You are What it Takes to Shatter Me
by in-it-for-these-beautiful-lies
Summary: After the battle with Ganon, Priness Zelda denies to Link that Sheik ever exsited. Heartbroken, Sheik leaves after Zelda dismisses him and goes deep into the Desert. But heartbreak never truely fades and lies always have a way of coming to light.
1. At the World's End

A/N - Just fyi, in case you didn't get it, this is a slash fic. Which means Sheik is his own person and is in fact a man. So if that's not your cup of tea, then don't drink it. T for a few naughty words.

Disclaimer : I do not own Zelda, or any of it's characters.

Chapter One - At The World's End

To him, I was nothing, less than nothing. To him, I no longer even existed. I was a phamtom in his mind after the final battle. I no longer had my duty to follow, to help, to guide. The Princess had seen to that rather quickly. She didn't realize though what she was truely doing.

To either of us.

She freed me from my oaths and told me I was my own and could do what I whated, go where I wanted. She had frown when I told her I would stay and be her guard from that shadows, as I had been for years before. Shaking her head, she told me that it would not be allowed for me to do such. Impa was her guard from the start, and now that the evil was sealed away, and she was to regain her place as Princess, Impa would be her guard once more. She apologized, then smiled, telling me again my life was now my own. My duty to the royal family was fulfilled.

She didn't understand that when she released me, she damned me. I had spent seven years of my life waiting and training to guide the Hero on his quest to defeated the dark one. Those seven years I had guarded her as well. She was who I had to obey, who I was sworn to. But being sworn to and devoted to are different things entirelly. When I saw the Hero for the first time, I had competely devoted myself to him.

I stayed with him even when he did not know. I followed him on his travels. When he slept in the open I guarded him. When he went into the temples, I followed him to ensure that he was not seriously injured throughout it. He had nearly caught me a few times. I watched him fight and struggle with this burden left to him. I watched him sit in silence. I watched him dream.

Over time, the child in him slowly started to disappear. More and more I watched his eyes, his emotions, his soul, harden from warfare and death and misery. I had an aching in my own soul as I watched him in those days. I wanted to go to him, to hold him and tell him that everything would be okay in the end. That he would get through it and that I would be there for him as he did such. That I was already there, watching his every step. I wanted to, but I knew I couldn't. It was not allowed, neither by the Princess's rule or by my own.

Sheikah were not suppose to feel. We were to be shadows, in a world of shadows. We were silent and strong. We did not care. We did not love. We were to do our duty, from the day we understood it to the day that we drew our last breath.

Despite all my hard learned lessions, I found my self starting to do just that. Starting to feel, starting to care. And what I felt was killing me. I cared deeply for the Hero and I felt guiltly for leaving him by himself. I knew what it was doing to him, yet I knew I could do nothing.

And by doing such I was damning him.

I had known all along that she would trade places with me at the Temple of Time for the last battle. And the look on his face when she did so... It was only a year. Only one year in our lives, But I was the only constant in his ever changing world. I was the one comfort, even if it was only for breif periods of time. And in one second, she had taken all that away from him. Never had my leaving hurt him as much as this was.

I saw from the shadows. I saw the emotions flicker over his face.

Disbelief, anger, pain, betrayal, hurt. And it hurt me as well. I might as well have been stabbed him in the heart then and there. At least the agony would have been gone from his system then. And then when the battle was over, he approched the Princess. He asked her a question and she paused for a moment, then shook her head. He bowed his and turned, walking away dejectedly.

When he was far enough away, I dropped down beside her. She turned to me, her deep violet eyes filled with tears.

"He asked about you."

I had stared at her for a moment. And in that moment happiness and joy and hope sparked inside me. Perhaps now I would be allowed to make up for the times that I had left him on his own, to figure everything out. For the times when my duty had kept me as his guide instead of a friend.

And then as quickly as it had come, it was gone. I had never seen the Princess cry out of sadness before. Anger and frustration perhaps, but not sadness. And then I knew. I knew with heart-shattering sorrow that he had asked if I was real or if I was mearly a disguise. and I knew what her answer had been. I had never felt so betrayed. I felt cold and numbness sweep over me, taking hold in my bones.

I knew in that moment that he would never truely trust anyone ever again. Juat as I would never trust her again.

She had lied to him.

She had lied and told him I never existed. That I was her, disguised as a Sheikah. The sadness in her eyes grew.

"Sheik, I am sorry, but it's for the best, if he never knows. The less people who know anything about this the better. He needs to try to forge a new path, a new life. It would be better for him if he forgot about the one person who helped him, who has seen everything, all of his truths and all of his faults. It would be best if he never knows just how much you were. You where his guide, his protector. Where he went, so did you.

He will never be able to change and grow for the best if you are near. You truely were his shadow. And I thank you for everything you have done.

I wil never forget any of this Sheik. Without you, the Hero of Time would not have suceeded. I thank you with all of my heart."

And the she did something I never though she would do for anyone, for anything. She bowed to me, like I was important. Me, a shadow in a world of shadows. Me, with my life cracking and breaking all around me.

I touched her arm and she rose. Tears had fallen, trailing down her cheeks. Only when she reached out to touch my face did I realize that I too was crying silently.

Then I nodded to her, taking one last look at the Hero I would never again follow. In between the moment I held the deku nuts and when I threw them too the ground, he turned. And for a moment, his eyes meet mine.

I prayed that he would think he simply had turned expecting to see me and thought he had imagined me for a second, before realizing that it was the Princess standing there, alone.

When the light cleared I was at the Spirit Temple, deep in the heart of the desert. My knees gave out under my and I was thankful that there was no one around. Only the silent desert was witness to my breakdown. I sobbed and gasped for breath, and it seemed that I would never stop crying. It seemed that my heart would never stop hurting.

In that moment I saw the most devestating, most agonizing, most pain thing I had ever seen. I knew it would never leave my memory, not for all the days that I had left in my life. Over time, we had learned to trust and reliy on each other. We had grown close. And now that was gone. Broken. Shattered.

The Hero of Time, the great one who had save all of Hyrule, was crying.

He was crying for me.

And it was more than I could ever take. In that moment, those few breif seconds, my heart shattered completely.

He had been crying for me.

And now, I was crying for him.

For everything that I had done and everything that I had not done. For never showing him a true kindness, for never letting him see a small smile or hear a real laugh. For never truely being there for him. For hurting him.

For damning him.

I knew I had. In those final moments that I saw him, I knew that I had. He would never trust again. Never show his true self to anyone. Never. He would shut himself away little by little, until there was nothing but a shell. A shell of what was and what would never again be. And I was my fault. Entirely my fault. And just as he would. I would too, guilt and dispair eating at my soul until it killed me. But I diserved it. It was my fault.

I would have died for him at any given moment, but now, I have to live without him.

That's like saying the earth will have to learn how to live without the warmth of the sun, or the fish, without the water they swim in.

I didn't just damn him, I damned myself.

Without him, I am nothing.

Without him, I am lost.

Without him, I am cold.

Without him, I am dying.

I am broken.

Damned.

A/n - Please let me know what you think and if there's anything that I should fix. It's the first time I've ever posted anything and I'm a bit nervous. Hoped you liked it well enough. Love and Kisses -beautiful lies-


	2. Remaints of a Once Dream

You are What it Take to Shatter Me

A/n : Wow! Thank you so much to those that reviewed the last chapter! You guys got me really hyped up about this. I'm so glad that you like it. Hopefully this chapter is likable as well. Actually, I'm posting the next chapter today as well. Why? I don't know. I just felt that they kinda needed to be read one after the other, kinda close together, you know? That and I had it done. Happy reading to you all.

Disclaimer : If wishes were fishes there would be no water in the sea. Here wishy fishy, here wishy fishy. I don't own Zelda or any of its characters or geopraghy.

Chapter Two - Remaints of This Once Dream

I lay there for hours, on the warp platform in the dying light and heat of the desert. The sun set and dusk settled in. There were no songbird to mark the end of the day, only far away yips of wild dogs, to take mark of the new night. The heat of the day faded away. The stones I was laying on probably kept their warmth for quite some time, but I don't remember feeling the warmness of them.

I don't remember feeling the coldness of the desert night sink into the world. I knew even in the summer sometimes it would be could enough to ice over water at the edges. But I really didn't even notice. I was too numb, too broken, to even care.

Suddenly a figure appeared out of the shadows and loomed over me. I didn't move. For the first time in my life I suddenly had no fear of dying, no adrenalin rush to spur me into action. For all the pain that I had caused but had no control over, I didn't really care if I died in that moment. Everything I had worked for was gone. He was gone.

The the moonlight shone down on us, revealing the figure to be someone I regeconized well, enough even, to call her family.

Nabooru had most likely seen me from her rooms above the top of the temple. She had probably watched me throughout the evening, waiting to see what I would do. She stared at me, her golden eyes narrowed for a moment, judging my state, before walking back to the temple. Minutes later she reemerged, carryin two large blankets and several fluffy pillows.

Automatically, like so many times before, I rolled over to the very edge of the platform. She spread out one of the blankets and threw down some pillows. I rolled back over onto it all and she spread the other blanket over me, leaving plently for her to use when she settled down.

In the moonlight and shadows her hair almost looked almost pink instead of red. She had on fawn colored pants, tight at the waist and gradually flared out as they went down. They were tight again at her ankles. Her thin shoes were more golden than fawn, as well as the bit of cloth that she had wrapped around her breasts. She also wore red leather open fingered gloves that reached back to her elbows, accenting the firey red hair she had in the light.

I noted distantly that she wore no jewelry this time. She had always been fond of it and had always alternated between a few chosen pieces. Thin gold bracelets usually brought a light tinkling when she moved her arms, but the still the night had brought remained. Seeing her without it was the same as if I had suddenly decided to take off my cowl and wander around the packed market at the Castle Town.

But at the moment I really didn't care.

She sat down close to me. And stared at me as I stared at the sky. It was twilight now, deep velvety blue speckled with bright shining stars. Only when she reached out and wiped away my tears did I even realize that I once again had them.

"What happened?"

I vaguely registered her voice, but it sounded as it were from far away, almost as if from another realm. I knew I had to answer it. To answer her. Besides Impa, Nabooru was the closest person that I had to compare to family. And knowing her there were a few ways she would deal with silence for answers. Hopefully shaking me wouldn't be her sollution this time.

The words that I managed to get formed were low, barely above a whisper, and raspy from my sobbing.

"She lied to him."

Just like that arms wound around me, envoping me in the tight hug. There were no more words nessecary. Every chance I had gotten during the seven years and even during the time that I had followed the Hero for, I had returned to the desert. To the people who were the closest to mine. To those who were left.

I had told her everything. Every fear and frustration, every hope and bit of joy. Nabooru had heard it all. She knew me as well as I would ever know myself. Besides Impa, she was the only family that I had left in this world. Those four words were all it took for her to link everything together.

I had hoped with the smallest of hopes that when the battles were finally over that perhaps the Hero and I had been through enough together, that we trusted each other enough, to be friends of sorts. That's all that I wanted. To speak with him on my own terms. To see him when it wasn't a duty. That was all I ever hoped for.

Because I could never have what I truely wanted.

I had barely even been able to breathe when I finally realized what it was. The mere thought knocked the wind out of me at the time. I had left his sight after he had restored the Water Temple. He was injured but clearly glad that he had managed to save the Zora's and their temple.

From the top of the cliff along the stream that ran into the lake , I watched him as the morning sun hit him, lighting his whole being for a moment. The image had seared itself into my mind. I wanted to protect him from everything that I possibly could. I wanted to take all the pain and the hurt from him. I wanted to share his laughter, and his happiness.

I loved him.

We lay there, that night, the whole night, wide awake, saying nothing. She simple stayed there with me, sharing my emotions and lending me her silent strengh. I would need her help now more than ever if I was to survive this horrible pain that ate at my soul.

I would need her as I never needed her before.

She didn't tell me that it would all be okay, because she knew that it wouldn't. She knew as well as I that life dealt out the harshest of card to us. That fate always played cruel tricks to those who struggled continuously in its flames and it waters and its voids.

"I love him," I told her at some point during the night. She turned and looked at him, a sadness on her face, plain for me to see.

"I know," was all she said.

It wasn't just stating an acknowledgement that she knew of my love, but my pain. She too, loved someone that she could never have. She knew the hurt that it brought.

It made me wonder how long she had known for, because I hadn't known for very long at all. Had it always been there, these feelings? Bubbling beneath the surface, waiting for an outlet? When had they first begun to form? Perhaps, it had been the first time I truely looked into his eyes, in the Lost Woods. It was all shadows in the Temple of Time, so I had not really noticed their color then.

He had stricking eyes, clear and bright, almost as if they could see through you and into your soul. Brillant and mesmerizing, the color of the high summer sky on a sunny day. That deep blue would forever remind of him when I looked up to the heights during the daytime.

There was no chance he would ever fade from my mind, not with such a reminder all around me.

We stared at the stars and the moon. We listened to silent desert. We were still laying there, in the same position when that deep blue began to fade from the sky.

Slowly the desert cam back to life with the rising sun. Color banded across the sky, and the wild dogs howled their farewell to the night. The silence was still there, it always would be. No matter where I had gone, I had taken that silence, that strengh with me. Now that I was back where I had started, somehow it nearly overwelmed me. As the sun hit us, we slowly sat up, Nabooru unwound herself from me.

She stood stretching and waited for me to rise. As I did, I faced away from her and into the direction of Hyrule castle. I couldn't see it from here, but that didn't stop me from knowing where it was. I turned from it and faced my friend. She flashed me a small smile and headed off towards the Temple.

Without a backward glance, I followed. As I walked up the Temple steps something settled over me slowly, heavy like wool.

I felt empty, hollow.

I needed to learn to be strong again.

I needed to forget all that had happened, though it seemed impossible to forget something that I knew would always be with me. The time I had spent with the Hero, brief as it was, will remain in me. In my heart, in my soul, in my skin, in my bones.

I needed to forget the Hero, because, like with all wounds, time would heal mine. At least I hoped that I could heal in some way. Nabooru was my lifeline now. She would be my salve, helping me close the wounds in my heart and in my soul. Perhaps one day I would again be whole, but somewhere in the back of my head I knew that was a hopeless idea. Some things never truely heal.

Some scars remain forever.

a/n : don't worry, there's lots more. Onward to the next chapter! Hoped you like it. Please let me know what you think.

Love and Kisses

-beautiful lies-


	3. Living in Shadow and Fire

You Are What it Takes to Shatter Me

disclaimer : I don't own Zelda. If wishes were treasure, we'd all be prirates. And that might complact things a bit...

A/n : This chapter somewhat of a continuation of the last chapter and a step forwards in the plot and I just felt that I needed to go ahead and put it up, just cause it seemed like the right thing to do. I just felt like they go together better before I take farther forwards in the plot. Enjoy!

Chapter Three : Living in shadow and Fire

The time that past seemed to blur together. I didn't have the mental state to keep track of it. I didn't know if it was weeks or months before I started to come out of the numb stuper that I had resigned myself to. The desert around me was a constent, unchanging landscape. There were no seasons here. All I know is that one morning I woke and I saw the sunlight for what it was. I stood in it's bright rays and I finally felt its warmth.

The pain was still there, the only difference is that now I could feel it. Before there was just an empty gaping hole. Now, it seemed as though that hole had a bottom instead of being endless, which only made it hurt that much more. But at least I could feel it now.

Nabooru paused as I walked into the den room. Her golden eyes locked onto mine as she assested me. It made me wonder how many mornings she had done the same, looking me over without saying a word. Judging, and waiting patiently for me to come back to her. Then she loped gracefully over and wrapped her arms around me. When she pulled back, she smiled.

"Welcome home", she said. And in that moment I knew I was. I was here with her, in the desert that I had grown up and loved in for so many years. The one place I truely loved to be. I was home. Gently, I smiled back. Pain tugged at my heart, before I turned and followed the familiar path to the outside world. I needed to stand in the light, I needed to feel the wind.

But mostly, I needed him.

The years seemed to flow by as I tried to heal my broken heart. The pain faded to a certian degree, but it never faded away completely. It always hovered in the edge of my mind.

Nabooru and I where rarely seen apart. We divided our time between the temple and the fortress. Once again, as in my youth, I shed the Sheikah clothing that I wore dury my time of service to the royalty of hyrule. Gone was the skin tight suit of flexa-armor, the never-ending process of wrapping and rewrapping bandages, and best of all, the end of wearing the cowl I had hidden behind. My hair remained the same windblown mess that it had been before, only this time there was no cloth to help twist the hand lengh tresses into it's apparently permanet current state.

I simply wore long flowing white or fawn colored pants like the rest of the Gerudo. Sometimes I would don a lightweight white shirt, but for the most part, I went without. Even as a child I loved the desert heat. My skin never cracked or burn like a Hylian's would after consent exposure. It remain as it was, not even darking, which I was thankful for, beacuse it seemed dark enough to me. It was the same golden color as always. Of all Hyrule's people, only the Sheikahs and the Gerudo's had a resistance to the sun's burning light, which was no surprise. We shared some of the same bloodlines after all, and once lived together in the deserts of this land.

But now, where there once were many. only a handful remained.

Sheikahs killed in battles and wars. Exacuted for treasons and crimes that did not exsit. Mistreated and untrusted by Hylians. Gerudos banned from the grasslands of Hyrule. Treated worse then lepers and called scum and theives. Our remaining people were the last of two dying breeds. Will they speak of us when we are gone, or will we fade from their minds, like all mistakes?

The few outsiders that were allowed past the gate and into the fortress never questioned my presence. I found to keep myself busy, and so did my closest friend. Within the week that I had returned to the consience world, Nabooru had given me a new bow, a quiver, and a beautiful horse.

The bow and quiver, I had quickly realized, had been made by Nabooru herself. Intricate designs covered the wood and the leather, telling of the desert and it's ways. Branded into both and then stained red were the symbol of my bloodline, the weeping eye of the Sheikah. I had never been so happy to receive a gift as then. It felt like some small piece of me had been returned

And the horse...

A beautiful high spirited young mare of six years. She was a deep blood bay, her glossy flanks seemed to be spitting fire in the bright sunlight of midday. Her mane and tail matched her hooves to the exact same shade, the color of new flaxen, glowing in the night pale like cream. She had never been ridden and was untrained.

They brought her to me with a simple leather halter that they had slipped on that morning. One guard nearly got her finger taken off in the process, they had said, laughing as they handed me the lead. She nearly swung me into the gate tower when I tried to tug on the lead for the first time.

When a Gerudo wanted a horse, they had to train it themselves. The horses then usually became one-people creatures, answering only to their master.

I had seen few truely exceptional horses in my time and my mare was one of them. Ember was beautiful, just as beautiful as the desert that I so loved.

And so I trained. Everyday, whether in the fortress with the others or out in the dunes by myself, I trained. With my mare, with weapons. Bow, sword, knives, magic, vaulting, whatever I could think of to pass the time, I did it.

Nabooru had informed me that very morning that she had a ceramony to prepare for and preform in the the depths of the temple as she prayed to the Goddesses and secured the magic of the temple. I knew from the years before that she would not emerge for days. I was not allowed to acompany her either.

She had disappeared hours before hand, so I went for a ride, which lasted several hours more.

I was surprised to say the least when I turned Ember to the southwest and saw a bright shining flash in the distance. It was the signal mirrors fromt he Fortress.

Frowning, I turned my mare back to the temple. I wondered how long they had been shining them for. I stopped outside, near the steps and dismounted. Grabbing a small mirrior I shined it's light up. It hit one piece of silver glass, the beam refracting and reflecting until it hit another, and another, until the light hit the mirrior at the top, sending a flash bright enough to the guards at the gate to see.

They signaled back, coding that we were to come to the fortress quickly. My heart leapt into my throat. Something had happened. Whether good or bad I didn't know yet. I paused. Nabooru was deep in the temple and I knew I would never find her. There were hidden doors all over the place. Deciding quckly I shined back, telling them that I was coming. I ended with another code, letting them know that it would be just me coming, that their leader was occupied in prayer. The accepting answer shined back.

I stared in slight shock.

Even though it had be clear that something unexpected had happened, they were allowing me to come in place of their leader. As the one who spent so much time with her, they trusted me to think in her stead, to make choices with the wisdom that she would use. The people of the desert had always acepted me and valued me, but I hadn't known until that exact moment just how highly they held me in their structure. I was one of the few men that had ever gained their repect, and the only to gain their full trust and love. The only one they had living with them in decades.

And it was knowing that that made me give a sharp whitle for Ember, who came flying. I vaulted onto her back, landing on the soft blanket sercured around her middle. Grabbing her mane I leaned forward as she ran, whisper words in Sheikah. She filpped her ears back and forth and kicked up her speed to top notch.

Whatever this was it was important, but as we raced through the desert in the strong heat and the bright sunlight and the hot sand, I couldn't help but thinking that there was something at the end of our swift journey that would change our lives forever.

Looking back, I watched as the Spirit Temple faded into the distance at an astonishing speed. I hated to leave Nabooru alone, but there was no time. Anything could have been happening at the Fortress.

If only I had known, I might had turned Ember around and encouraged her to run the other way. Unto the endless desert until we both perished into oblivion.

But I didn't.

So we rode as swift as the wind itself to our destiny.

To a damning, blinding pain.

To twisted and charred puzzle pieces that remained of our world.

To fate, and to pain.

a/n : Now, we're finally going to get somewhere with this story. :D Hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think. The next chapter should be up very soon.

Love and Kisses

-beautiful lies-


	4. A Glimpse of the Trials Ahead

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : A big thanks to all of those who took the time and reveiwed on the last chapter.

Still no beta, but I went over this chapter about 30 times, so I hope I caught all my mistakes this time.

This chapter is dedicated to Lionwings, Trolly's Bara-chan, and DarkItachi22. You guys hyped me up, laid down your thoughts, approval, ideas, and questions. You made me pause and think. Thank you for your inspiration. Even if you don't realize it, without you, this story would have been far, far less.

And you made me want to work harder, which is why this chapter is already done ;)

Seriously, I love you guys. 3 A lot. :D

I hope it once again merrits your approval.

Happy reading.

Chapter Four : A Glimpse of the Trials Ahead

At an easy pace it would have been a day long journey across the desert sands. On Ember, it was a fraction of the time. Her strides ate up the ground under us, her feet steady on the sands that she had run through as a foal. I had pushed her few times before but this was by far the fastest she had ever run for me.

It was as if she could sense something in the air, something that pulled us towards our destation.

Time seemed to stand still as we crossed the wastelands of my home. It was as if the earth itself was aiding in our quick journey. The dunes around us refrained from shifting. The winds were sand free, and pushed themselves along with gentle gusts and mellow breezes. The air was warm, but not scorching hot as it was most days.

The sun was begining to decend as the Fortress gate came into veiw. The wind blew the scent of dirt, water, straw and coolness at us. For a moment, I was taken back in time. It had nearly been the same as all those years ago.

When Impa had come and collected me from the desert camp I called home. When we had fled the desert and the evil man who then ruled over it. I could still hear the voices on the desert winds that blew that day. Anger, and shame, and bitterness had filled the air. I was shaken from the memories of my flight from the people I had been raised with as the gate grew larger and loomed in my sight.

There were the usual guards standing on the ground and perched uptop the tower. They seemed nervous, something they almost never were. A young girl stepped out from the shadows of the gate as we passed through, her red hair blazing in the sunlight like a bright new fire. Two others followed in her wake.

We thundered under the gate, to the left and up a slight hill. I didn't need to call out to my mare, she stopped on her own. I dismounted her as the three guards came rushing towards us.

"Sheik, Sheik! There are messangers here from the Royal Princess!"

The eldest of the three gave the small girl a slight shove.

"Nihaim, go and tend to Ember, and keep yourself quite!"

I watched with intrest as she stepped towards Ember and tried to grab hold of my mare's mane to lead her to the water trough. My horse swung her head around and snapped her teeth mere inches from the girls fingers. Nihiam jerked back, clearly startled. She glanced back over to us, to me.

The second guard, Trian, gave a sigh and walked over to help.

Which left me with Ashia. She was a only few months older than I, and we had spoken to each other often while growing up. Our people had often sent me and a few others over to the Fortress to barter our stock for outside supplies. She was much the same as I then, quiet and watchful.

My eyes met hers. They were slightly darker then Nabooru's and far more serious. Her hair was more of a light sennia then firey red and her skin was near the same color as mine, lighter than her fellows. She stood out from the others her age. Their hair and eyes were the same as the rest of the Gerudos and her's were different, if only by a little.

Ashia's mother had been part Sheikah, and though her eyes could see through some illusions, they remain the color of beaten gold instead of crimsion like mine. There were a few others in the Fortress who had Sheikah blood in them. They alone, from my bloodline of the desert, remained. There were no others out there on the sands, as there had been for generations, since the Great Betrayal had happened.

I refained from shuddering at the thought. Countless lives had been lost in that time of fighting, a great many years before my time, but every Sheikah child learned the story in their early days. It caused the rift between us and our kin in Hyrule to remain as a chasm. It allowed the hatred for Hylians to remain embedded deep within our souls.

I was not the first since the Betrayal to overcome that prejudice, but I was the only since then to serve the Royal Family.

"It is true. There are royal messengers here, Sheik. They wanted to speak to Nabooru, but you say she is busy?"

I nodded, my hair tossed about by the breeze.

"She is in prayer."

Ashia lowered her eyes. Praying to the Goddesses was no simple feat. Prayer could last for days upon end and it often left Nabooru drained and worn.

My eyes wandered over the remainder of the guards that were outside. Double what was usually stationed. All because of the mesengers?

"Where are they?"

"Inside," Ashia said, her voice low.

I glanced over at her. It was odd, the way she was behaving. Perhaps the mesengers were men. Besides me and a few others from time to time, there had been no men in the desert while she was growing up. Gerudos were raised to be strong, but Ashia had never been able to break her streak of shyness, though she was a fierce fighter when the need arose.

"Peace now, sister," I told her. "Tell me what chamber they are in and you can keep guard here."

She sighed in relief. No other with my bloodlines had ever called her sister. They had hardly spoken to her. I had only said it a handful of times over the years and she knew when I said it as such, it was my promise to protect her from harm. I would not place her somewhere she would feel uncomfortable in.

I concidered the some of the Gerudo people as an extended family and they saw me as such. Though we had lived together in the desert, both our people, few were truly family to each other. Nabooru and Ashia were mine. Not many Sheikah would have considered a full blooded Gerudo and a mixed blood family, but I wouldn't give them up for the stars and the moon.

"In yours and Nabooru's quarters. They are waiting with Shesta and Jinyate in the outter chamber."

I nodded to her and set off, my heart racing in my chest. Her nervousness was apparently catching.

I stepped into the cool, shadowed halls of the fortress and wound my way through the twisting tunnels. Only someone who had been here for years would not be confused by them. It was set purposely so, that way intruders would be easily caught.

I entered the chamber to find a two of the guards standing on either side of the messengers. In dark grey traveling cloaks and hoods, which were drawn over their heads and hid their faces in the shadows cast there, the messengers waited. The royal insigna was stamped on their fronts. The guards drew to attention when they saw me, something I was grateful for.

It helped me feel as if I knew what I was doing, when I knew naught.

I took me a moment to find my voice.

"Our leader, Nabooru, Sage of the Spirit Temple, is ocupied at the moment. She cannot be reached. I can take what message you have to her when she is done with her tasks."

Silence answered my statement. I cast my eyes back and forth between the messengers and waited. Slowly, one drew his hands up to his hood.

As it fell, shock jumped through me as if I had been doused with ice cold water.

I took in the silver hair and eyes as crimson as my own, and that face that seemed like it hadn't aged a day since I had last seen it. The only true full blooded relation that I had left in this world.

Before me, stood the Lady Impa.

She stared at me, only the slightest of emotion flickering through her eyes.

I waved off the guards and they slowly walked out of the room, glancing back now and then, unsure about leaving me alone with the two strangers.

As soon as the door shut I took a fast step towards her, but she raised her hand. I stopped short and tore my gaze from hers to stare at the other who was still hooded.

Hands reached up and the hood pooled around it's wearer's neck.

Shock was nothing compared to this new flood of emotions that tore through me. I stopped breathing as I stared, unable to take my eyes from his. Beautiful sky blue, filled with something I couldn't describe. They were the same, yet so vastly different then I remembered.

There was almost something less about him.

Link.

Everything around me seemed to stop as pain flooded my body.

I stared at him, my eyes taking in all they could. I wasn't sure why he was here, but I knew I couldn't have looked away if I had to. And then an icy fear clawed it's way into my chestas I stared at him. This was not the same man that I left in Zelda's care.

He looked differently now, as the dull light shined down on him. His blonde hair still framed his face, but was no longer kept under his green hat, which was missing from his persons. It seemed a thin color now, as if it's goldness had faded somehow. He himself was thinnner, more worn looking. He had a wariness about him when he moved foreward a few paces.

Where there was once joy and happiness eched into his features now there was a calm, almost distant look about him. He had used to wear his emotions openingly, but no longer. He had them hidden deep within now. Hidden from all of the world.

And his eyes.

They were still the same blue that I had often dreampt of, but there was nothing in them now. No life, just indifference. He was hollow, a shell of what he once was. I knew now the name for the look I had seen. It was emptiness.

He had become someone that I did not know.

He had lost all trust and faith in those around him, as I knew he would.

The man that I had left those years ago was locked away inside of this man who stood in front of me now. There seemed to be nothing left of the one who held my heart. I wondered if anyone would ever be able to reach him again.

But it was clear from the way he looked at me that Zelda had kept to her word. He didn't know who I truely was. I may have perhaps looked fimilar, but with no cowl to cover my face, I went without recognition.

Yet I did not blame the Princess. This was not her fault, nor would I hold it to her.

I ripped my eyes from his and locked them onto Impa. She stared at a moment before she spoke, her voice still as rich and deep as I remembered it.

"I had no word from you. Had I known you were here, I would have insisted on coming alone."

Link kept staring.

"I should have known this is where you would return to eventually though. Now this is my fault and my fault alone. I will bare the conciquences of this meeting when Her Highness askes of how it went. You be seen for no blame."

I shook my head. It wasn't Impa's fault. She had been here before and I had hidden from her. I hadn't wanted to see her because I would have been reminded of Zelda and of Link.

"Lady Impa, it is my fault, not yours. I should have sent you word long ago. I fear that I was in no condition and had no want for communication. Not for any outside of these walls. And for that I apoloize."

Link, who still stood at Impa's side, staring at me, had the smallest amount of confusion flickering on his face. He still was unable to realize exactly who I was.

Then I saw it. A flicker of light, of life, in his eyes before they dulled again.

Impa continued to stare at me in silence as emptiness stole back over Link's face. He spoke to me as if he hadn't heard what Lady Impa and I were just talking about.

"Zelda? I thought you were going to stay at the castle with the others? Did you already talk to Nabooru?"

My heart flooded with fire. Pain moved swiftly through my veins. The flicker that I saw was recognization. He had placed me, and most likely my voice had helped the process along. And of course, he would simply think I was her.

I paused for a moment, turning from him. I couldn't face him with these emotions runnning through me. It hurt to look at him with all of this love and hurt in my heart. I adressed them both, but I kept my eyes on Impa.

"My Lady Impa, Hero. Nabooru is deep within the Temple at the moment, praying to the Goddesses. You won't be able to speak to her until she is done. She is securing the temple and it may be days before she has found completion with her task."

Impa watched me carefully as Link stepped forward. He had a small frown on his face, and she a wary look in her eyes. I knew what was going to happen. I knew the pain and hurt it would cause the both of us to relive. But perhaps, it would allow understanding in with it.

"Zelda? Umm... What's with all this 'Hero' stuff? You haven't called me that in years..."

I watched as Impa turned to him, and underneath the mask she wore I glimped a small amount of pity and sympathy, but for which of us I was unsure.

"Link, this is not Zelda. This is Sheik, truely Sheik."

He turned his eyes to me as her voice echoed, hanging in the air. There was emotion in them that I could not identify. For a breif moment, the man I remembered had shown through those eyes. I saw him within, and then he shut me out again. Like he shut out all others.

Because if I was real, I had betrayed him as well.

"You lie."

The voice that was soft moments ago was now as hard as steel. I didn't blame him. I had hurt him, or rather Zelda had hurt him through me. And I had allowed it. But still, I could not blame her. I knew the blame lay with me. I should have explained to her, I should have made her see reason.

But reguardless, if I could make him see truth for lies, perhaps I would be allowed the chance to apologize to him, for allowing the hurt and the pain that was pushed onto him. I steadied my breath and started.

"I first saw you in the Temple of Time. I told you I had been waiting for you, Hero. I spoke of sages and the Temples. I told you to go to Kakariko Village. Once you departed from there, you headed to your childhood home, to Kokiri Forest. I met you outside of the Forest Temple and taught you the Minute of the Forest. You then entered and saved your friend from the creatures that dwelled within. I saw you again at the bridge outside of the Fire Temple in Death mountian, where I taught you another song, and you sought to save another friend from your past. Shall I go on?"

The fresh pain on his face was like a slap to mine. My heart wretched and I wanted to move forewards, to comfort him. But even if he would allow it, my guilt would not allow me. I was suppose to have never existed to him. Yet here I was, only hurting him more. I stayed where I was.

Impa did it for me. She layed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn to her.

"The Princess thought it would be for the best if you never knew Sheik was real. She thought that you would cope better than you have, and she could not force Sheik to stay. He was pressed into service to the Royal Family, not bound by blood like I am. She could not hold him for longer. He deserved his freedom."

Link jerked away from her touch, his eyes burning with disbelief and betrayal.

"What are you talking about? You're both Sheikah! Why should he be allowed to frolick off while you have to stay?"

I stared at Link. His voice was bitter and it stung. In some ways he was still as ignorent as he had been when he took his first steps out of the forests and into Hyrule. And he was angry at being lied to.

"We are not of the same tribes," I told him softly. "Though what I told you was the truth. We are the last of our people. Lady Impa's people housed themselves in the village of Kakariko, while my people lived here, in the desert."

He shook his head again.

"But why? Why live seperate from each other if you're the same race?"

I could hear in his voice that there was more he wanted to say, more he wanted to know. Why had we lied to him. Why had I left. But the words didn't leave his lips.

Now it was Impa's turn to shake her head.

We might all have brain damage before we left this room if this kept up. I sighed mentaly, wishing with all my heart that Nabooru's sense of humor had not rubbed off onto me. This was no place for it. But the pain left me for a moment, as I thought of her. Because of her, I was able to keep check of my emotions for the most part.

"Long ago, there was a great betrayal from among the Royal Family. Hylians turned on the Sheikah, slaughtering them for crimes that never happened. The King tried to make ammends to the people, but the pain and hurt was too much for some. In the end, many lives were lost that hadn't needed to be. Those who accepted it stay in Hyrule, those who did not fled to the desert, where the influences of the Royal Family could not reach them. They were disgraced, outcast. Sheik is a decendent of these people. This desert is where he was raised, until I came to get him the year that Zelda and I feld from Ganondorf."

Link glanced at me, his eyes guarded. He was no unsure of who to blame now. I knew this would be my one chance. I would never get another.

"Hero, I need you to know that while it was never my idea to just walk away, it was a last request that I could not deny. I apologize for any hurt and resentment that it may have left in you. It was never my intention to cause you any harm."

The words sounded so formal to my ears. Could he hear what I wasn't saying? The things that I wanted to, but couldn't find the strengh for?

_You were not the only one hurt,_ I wanted to cry out, but instead the words echoed in my head. _I saw the tears you cried, and I cried them as well. The hurt I was left with took me into a darkness that took me months to come out of. Even after all these years, just seeing you standing in front of me brings it all back as if it were yesterday. All of this fear and pain and hurt and love feels fresh. It's killing me all over again._

I couldn't say it outloud. Perhaps somewhere inside of me I knew he would never believe me. After all, I had someone to pull me from my darkness, to help me find my feet, to help me keep my faith. Had he had anyone to do the same for him?

Impa took a step forward.

"Enough of this. There is time later to talk of the past. Now is here and we need an audience with Nabooru. Can you take us to the Spirit Temple, Sheik? We will not distrub her, but simply wait there for her prayers to be done with."

I nodded and looked to the ground, my hair falling into my eyes.

"Of course, Lady Impa," I murmured. "Follow me please."

I turned and led them through the cool stone halls and out into the night. The moon was rising quickly in the sky, casting it's pale light down on us.

Ashia stood in almost the same place that I had left her. To her left stood Nihiam and Trian. They were next to Ember, brushing her with soft boar bristle brushes while she nosed at the hay they had placed on the ground for her. They must have slipped her some sugar as well, otherwise she'd still be snapping at them. My mare's one downfall were the lumps of sugar that all Gerudo carried on them for horses.

Ashia stood to attention as we aproched.

"We will need to more horses, I think."

"No, Mistress Guard, we have our-"

A sharp, loud whistle cut Impa off. I turned to catch her glaring at Link. A moment later, two horses came trotting from around the first stairwell. I reconized Epona, but not the other. Impa walked up to the grey and patted it's nose.

Ember picked up her head as she watched the other two horses being lead closer. She took a few steps towards to me, as if she was afriad that they would try to steal me for themselves. I patted her neck and slipped her a lump of sugar from a pouch around my waist. Nihiam slid the thick pad onto Ember's back while Trian buckled it around her girth.

I vaulted up onto her and waited for the others to mount their own steeds. I looked down at Ashia, who was watching me in concern.

"They have to speak to Nabooru when she gets out of prayer. We should be back in a few days. Let no others pass through the gate until then."

She nodded, and then stepped back. I glanced back to make sure the others were ready. Link was staring at me again. Flickers of emotion couldn't be hidden in his eyes, and I picked them up easily. My own eyes never let the pain I felt in his presence escape.

That fire flooded me again. After all this time, and all this pain, I still loved him. I turned away from his eyes.

I urged Ember forwards and she took off in a steady canter. I was unsure of the stamina that the others would have in the desert and took it slower than I would have had I gone on my own.

Hours passed in silence as we rode on. We were about two thirds to the Temple when Ember kicked up her heels and shied sideways, nearly throwing me from her back. Behind me I could hear the other horses doing the same, judging from the curses coming from Impa and Link. I held my own tounge, knowing she wouldn't have spooked unless something threatening was out there, waiting.

I scanned the land around us.

In the distance I saw a lone horse. Large and black, it stood on the crest of a dune, a rider on it's back. I couldn't make out the figure from where I was. The moonlight wasn't ideal for seeing distances, even in a place as open as this. Neither horse nor it's rider moved for several moments. Then they turned and faded from sight.

I sat still, unsure of what I had seen. Illusions of the desert were common, but usually to Hylians not Sheikah. I glanced back at the others and noted that they too had been staring in the same direction as I had just been.

And then I noticed it. The desert was usually quite at this time of night, but not dead silent. There were no wild dogs, no owls or foxes or hares. No trickle of sand, no wind. There was nothing in this landscape, nothing moving. Yet nothing seemed out of place with the desert itself.

But I could feel it. There was a wrongness in the air. As if we were balanced on the edge of a knife, but were we to fall or jump or wait to be pushed? Something was waiting out there. Something with a evilness about it. But was it waiting for us, or for something else?

Fate was shifting, just like the sands shifted in the great desert storms. I felt deep it in my bones.

Fear clenched in my heart once more, but for an entirely different reason.

"Lady Impa, you stay with the Hero and follow the way to the Temple, I trust you can see through the illusions of the desert still?"

She nodded.

"Good. I'm going ahead." I told her. There was an understanding in her eyes, and perhaps the moonlight was playing trick on me, but I thought I saw a thread of fear from her as well.

"Wait! Why are you leaving us here?"

Link. I turned and looked at him.

"I have to find Nabooru. There is something evil here, can you not feel it? Did you not see the rider?"

He frowned at me as Impa nudged her horse forwards until she was next to me. She handed me a short sword and a pouch of senbon needles. I took them without protest. I had left my own in the Temple, deciding that my ride that morning would be short and weapons would only be a hinder in this empty desert. Since Ganondorf was sealed away, nothing save for the wild animals had come through the lands.

Still, I usually went armed in the desert, but that morning I hadn't. Today was now a reason enough to do so for every future time, even if it is just for what I think will be a short ride. I would never go unprepared again.

"What rider?" He asked me. I turned my eyes from his. He had not seen it then.

"It doesn't matter. I have to go."

I turned Ember towards the Temple once more. She tossed her head as I whispered words of Sheikah into her ears and her muscles trembled beneath us.

"Why can't we ride with you then?"

I glanced back at him.

"Ember was made for these sands, you're horses are not. You would hold me back. Stay with Impa, or you will be lost. I will see you at the Temple."

I barely pressed Ember's sides with my knees and she shot of into the night. The desert cold hit me as we raced through the dunes. It was colder then usual, sending a chill deep within me. Time seemed to hold still and yet pass quickly as we flew across the sand.

There, looming ahead, sat the Desert Collosess. The Spirit Temple. And within it, Nabooru.

Ember skided to a stop just short of the steps. The torches were not lit as usual. Fear gripped me again. I slid from her back, and she trotted away, seeming to not want to hold still with this feeling of evil in the air. Slowly, I walked up the steps, strapping the sword and pouch to my sides.

I pushed the door of the Temple open and eased inside. There was no light here either.

A sickening fright filled my entire body.

My heart raced, going so quickly I feared it would stop beating.

What lay waiting for me beyond these doors and these walls?

I took a step forward.

I could only pray that I was not too late.

A/n : I know, that's a horrible place to end the chapter. But chapter 5 will be up very, very soon. I would have like to have posted it, so you know what happens, but it's not done yet. T.T As always, please let me know what you think.

Love and Kisses

-beautiful lies


	5. A New Shadow Falls

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : I am so sorry for the update delay. My mom has to have surgery on her shoulder on Monday, so I've been helping out around the house with stuff that she needs done. Updates for the next month or so, until shes better, might be a little random, but I will still try to get one up a week like I have been.

I seriously can't thank you all enough for your wonderful reviews. You guys are the best readers ever! *huggles to you all*

Thank you all. Happy reading.

Disclaimer : I do not own Zelda or anything Zelda related, except the Zelda shirt... which I am wearing... Can anyone say dork? lol

Chapter 5 : A New Shadow Falls

Evil should not have been allowed to enter here, but I could feel it. It was in the air, in the walls, and in the ground itself. I took cautious, quiet steps, listening to the silence around me for any sort of noise that could potentially give an enemy away.

Even after so many years of not using them, my battle senses were on high alert. I slowly made my way farther into the Temple through halls and chambers. There was nothing out of place as far as I could tell. It seemed as if it were untouched, but it still radiated evil.

I paused.

There were no lights the whole way through so far, but there was a faint glow from under the edge of the door of the next room. It was one of many chamber rooms in the Temple that was full of scrolls and objects of history. I moved closer in small light steps.

The blood that raced quickly through my veins seemed to be screaming that I should move faster while my brain told me that one wrong move could be the end of my life. I placed my right hand on the short sword Impa had given me, and my left drew three senbon needles from the pouch around my waist without a sound.

I inched forward and took a unsteady breath as I slowly pushed the door open no more than an inch. I needed to see what I was up against before I went blindly rushing in, but there was nothing that I could see. I pushed a bit farther and still, nothing.

cautiously, I straitened and pushed the door wide open with a bit of force. It slammed lightly against the wall. There was nothing laying in wait behind it. I stepped forward and from behind the first row of shelves a figure hurled itself at me. I barely had time to draw my sword before it clanged with the other's weapon. Two seconds were all it took for the three razor sharp needles to be imbedded into the creature's throat.

It gave a gurgly hiss and collapsed onto the cold floor. I studied it for a moment in the dim light.

It was covered from head to toe in scales like a lizardos, but that is where the similarities ended. To start it was ash grey. The ends of it's hands, which sported only three fingers and one thumb, were tipped with curved claws, black and glistening in the light. It's neck seemed too long for it's short body. It's head seemed identical to a bird of prey. Loose black cloth covered its torso and legs, hiding them from my veiw.

Dying eyes gleamed like bronze and it opened it's black beak. It hissed at me, a low haunting sound. Blood contrasted brilliantly against it's grey skin as it bubbled from the creatures mouth. The scalp held no hair, and where the ears should have been where curling horns, like a rams, but thinners and sharper looking.

I took a step back. What in the world was this thing? I had never seen anything like it, nor heard of any tales of a creature at all similar.

It's eyes remained fixed on mine as the life shuddered out of it.

My ears picked up the light sound of footfalls from the other side of the next door. I left the dead thing alone and made my way to the door. I was just about to push it open when it swung back at me. Jumping back, I landed several feet away from the door, but I wasn't quick enough to prevent the attack. All I saw was a shadowed figure in the frame, swinging something that flashed in the light at my head.

And then I was sitting on the floor, my ears ringing from the blow. I wasted no time, rolling away without a thought, twisting to gain back my footing. I raised my sword, intent on doing damage to whatever had hit me.

And then the figure took a step towards me, light falling on it's face and I couldn't believe what had almost just happened, what I had been about to destroy.

Nabooru stood there, clutching a silver water pitcher in one hand and a heavy chunk of stone that I knew for a fact to be a doorstop that she used in one of the rooms farther down. The stone was a deep red brown like so much of the cliffs around here, but I could see that it was stained with fresh blood. Lots of blood.

"Sheik?"

Her voice cracked in the still air. I lowered my weapon and took a step towards her.

"Did you hit me with a our water pitcher? You couldn't have gotten a real weapon?"

A laugh burst out of her and then she couldn't seemed to stop. I allowed a smile to reach my face as she gasped for breath.

"I'm sorry, I just. I thought you were one of those things! Are you alright, little brother? I haven't adled your brain, have I?"

I shook my head. I waved a hand back at the creature that I had slain.

"You'll have to try harder next time, I'm afraid. How many more were there?"

All laughter died from her expression in a heartbeat.

"Only three, thank the Goddesses. I don't want to think of what would have happened if there had been more. I nearly got it from the last one. They move quick, whatever they are."

I murmured in agrement as she peered over at the creature.

"Oh, that one looks different too."

I gave her a sharp look.

"What do you mean, too?

She gave a careless shrug. I could tell that she was tired. She had probably just come out of prayer and been jumped by the creatures.

"The first one that came at me looked like a frog. He had a buddy that looked like some sort of fat beaver. The third one was partly skeletion. They were all the same grey color though."

"How odd..."

She nodded in agrement. I took a few steps towards her and wrapped my left arm around her waist, leaning her weight on me as I shuffled her from the room. She was silent as we made out way back to the front of the Temple.

I eased her down onto the steps just inside of the door and sat beside her, my arm still wound around her, keeping her close.

"By the way, I should warn you, we have visitors."

"Oh? Do we now? Are they friendlier than this bunch we just played with, cuz I'm not up for any more rough playtime right now."

"Yes, they have much better manners. They're from the Castle," I told her in a low voice.

Nabooru's eyes flashed as they found mine. Whatever answer she was looking for seemed to be easily found because she lowered her eyes and kept them trained on the ground.

"Well, looks like were both royally screwed then huh?" She muttered softly.

I just barely caught the words, but couldn't help the weak chuckle that escaped from my mouth.

"Yes, we are."

Anything else that would have been said was cut off by the thunder of hooves on sand and stone. Muffles thuds sounded out and turned into running footfalls. Link and Impa flung the open the double doors and raced inside. They had their weapons drawn and looked ready for a fight.

The moment they sighted us, they skidded to a halt. Impa sheathed the fighting daggers she had drawn out. Link lowered his sword, but didn't put it away. He glanced around the room, peering into the shadows.

Impa began to walk towards us, but Link stayed where he was. Uncertianty flashed over his face as he stood still, watching us with guarded eyes.

"What happened?"

I moved slowly, giving Nabooru time to sit on her own before I stood strait.

"There were dark creatures in the Temple, Lady Impa. Nabooru took care of three and I killed the last one."

Impa's eyes flickered between myself and my friend. She was much better at schooling her emotions than I ever was and nothing was given away on her features. She turned slightly, beckoning to Link with a wave of her hand.

I watched him gingerly make his way over, eyes kept to the ground.

"Stay with her. I need Sheik to take me to the creatures."

He nodded, but still didn't look up at me. I'm sure something must have flickered in my eyes, stray emotions that made themselves seen, because Impa gave me a look of slight pity. Inside, I felt my heart crack a little more.

It killed me to see him like this.

She tugged at my arm and we moved back down the halls. Without a word, I led her to the chamber that held the creature I had slain. It still looked just as sinister and wrong as it had the first time.

She made her way over to it and kneeled. She reached out her hand, but never actually touched it. She let a small sigh out into the air.

"This is not the first one you have seen, is it?" I asked her, my voice quietly echoing in the room.

"No, it is not. This is a Cavuduit, a creature woven together through dark magic. It is old magic, very few have ever sucessfully learned how to cast the spell to create them. One also would also require cadavors, lots of cadavors." she told me, her eyes darkening. "Sheik, there have been attacks on other Temples as well. The Sage of the Forest and the Sage of the Fire Mountian are both missing. Their realms are turning, decaying from within, like a slow posion has entered the heart of it.

The people are suffering. There is dark talk of these creature ripping even Gorons limb from limb. We do not know if the Sages are dead, or being held prisioner somewhere. There is also talk of Ganondorf's shadow reaching into this realm from his own prision. The Princess has order all remaining Sages back to the Castle for a meeting. So far, it will just be talk, but if the attacks continue, Zelda will have no choice but to begin a battle she may not win, against forces that we know next to nothing about.

We do not know where they come from, these things. We do not know how many there are of them, or their ways and styles of fighting.

We came to escort Nabooru there, though I am sure the Princess would not mind if you too came, Shiek."

My heart clentched as she continued to speak.

"You know, she still has the guilt that was left with her on the day you departed. She wished so dearly that Link would continue to be the Hero that he was then. But without guidence, without whatever friendship that had grown between the two of you, he shut down over time, and shut everyone out.

She hated herself for lying to him, for letting him hurt. She thought that, givin time, his hurt would heal and he would move on but it never happened. Sheik, if you stay here, you may never get a chance again to speak with him. We could all perish in what is to come, but the decision is yours. I will not force you into anything this time around. It is up to you to decide when you step from the shadows of this world."

I stared at her in slight shock. Over the years, Impa and I had become comrades, friends of sorts. We had depended on each other and learned to trust each other despite the fact that we came from different tribes of Sheikah who despised each other for generations.

But I had never heard her speak so much in one converation as long as I have known her. Usually she gave one or two sentence answers and that was the end of it. Yet here she was, emotion on the tip of her tounge and leaking into her words that she had wanted to tell me for so long.

There was a warm, welcome kindness in her crimson eyes. I stepped towards her and warpped my arms around her ignoring my mind as it remembered that hugging this woman could be my last move on earth. Impa hugged me back tightly, as if anything less and I would once more disappear.

I took me a few minutes to find my voice again.

"Yes, I will come with you when you leave. I think I have been here in the sands and shadows for far too long, my Lady. I have been lost without even knowing. If you hadn't come here, for whatever reason, I would be lost still. I perhaps would have been wandering these sands for the rest of time."

She smiled at me and release me from her arms. She turned to the creature below us and frowned.

"We need to go and see the rest of them. Before we leave here, we will burn their corpses."

"But why do we need to see the others, Impa?"

She glanced back at me before stepping through a door that led deeper into the Temple.

"Because," her voice echoed back to me."None of them ever look the same, nor do they all have the same strengh, or intellect."

I shuddered. If they were all so different then how would we know what they were capable of as a whole?

We made out way to the others and studied them. It was as she and Nabooru had both said, none looked like the first one, but they were all just as bizarre. Mixed parts of animals with a slight human grace, all ash and black. As we headed back towards Link and Nabooru a stray thought hit me.

"Impa? Did you see the horse and rider as well, in the desert?"

She paused, but did not turn back to me.

"Yes, I saw it."

And then she walked on, leaving my to my thoughts as I followed.

If there was a new battle brewing then the Princess would need all of the help and all of the allies that she could get. I was glad now that I had not been idle all of these years.

I would do what I could for her.

As for Link...

We needed to work together from now on. I had to fix what damage I had caused.

Pain and suffering and hurt leave incredible scars that sometimes never fully leave us, but perhaps I could bridge the rift in the short time that I had, or he would never be able to rely on me for anything again. And that could get us killed in whatever battles were to come.

Trust would be hard enough to build, but nothing to say of friendship or even love.

Could, I do this? Could I push my feelings away a second time, for a second chance? My head said, yes, yes you can, but I could hear my heart whispering to me from the shadows.

It was saying no, you stupid man, you can't push me away again, you can't hide me in the depths any longer. This time, it will kill you. This time, there will be no recovery. This time you will shatter and no one will be able to pick up the pieces.

I paused outside of the door to the entrance chamber. Impa had entered ahead of me and I could hear her talking to Link and Nabooru in her deep, steely tones.

I couldn't hide my heart from him, I knew that. Eventually, he would see. But I would do all that I could to reforge what was broken between us. This time I would leave nothing out. I would make no allowances for lies and half truths.

This time, I would risk everything, all for him.

Always for him.

A/n: As compensation for taking so long to get this chapter up, short as it is, I have also posted chapter 6 as well. I hoped you all liked this chapter as well as the pervious ones. Please, let me know what you think.

Love and kisses,

beautiful darkness


	6. A Bright New Flame

You are What it Take to Shatter Me

a/n: I just wanted to say again, thank you all so much for reading. I hope this chapter is to your liking and perhaps to you expectations.

disclaimer : I don't own Zelda. But I do have lots an lots of coffee :D

Chapter Six : A Bright New Flame

We left the Desert Colossus as dawn was breaking. The new day's light caught on the edges of the clouds and bounced of the edges of the cliffs. Golden rays shown brightly down as the sands began to warm under our horses hooves. Behind us, a thick plume of smoke rose into the air. The twisted bodies of the Cavuduits were burning.

Nabooru was in the lead, on her palomano, Lady Impa close behind her on the grey she had ridden the night before. I followed nearly twenty feet behind them, and behind me was Link. He was trailing under pertense that he was holding the rear as guard if anything should go wrong, but I knew better. He was avoiding me.

None of us had gotten more then a few minutes of sleep during the remainder of the night as we waited for Nabooru to recover from her fight with the Cavuduit creatures.

I could tell he was thinking, his eyes cast on far off dunes that crested the landscape to the south. With a gentle touch, Ember slowed her walk. After a few minutes we evened out with the other man and horse. He glanced at me, irritated that I was so near, but I said nothing to give him reason to tell me to leave.

Hours passed and the sun grew hot and there was no breeze to give us cool air. It was as if the desert was telling us to stop, to turn back and stay. But we kept going, moving closer to our destiny, to whatever fate had in store for us. Overhead, a desert hawk called out to it's mate, who echoed back.

I remembered the one I had kept when I lived in the cliff wall houses of my people. Hunting hawks were popular and made catching the swift rabbits and lizards of the sands easier. I had unhooded my hawk and set her free before I had left with Impa. I couldn't stand the thought of giving her to someone else and it was made clear that I could not bring her on our journey. She had soared overhead of us as we rode across the sands. When we had reached the Fortress and left behind the desert, she had called out several times before turning and gliding out over the hot air currents back to the places that she knew best.

Blinking, I glanced over at Link. His blonde hair was dampened with sweat, clinging to the sides of his neck and face. I was faring no better, even as used to the heat waves that hit here as I was. The sun grew higher as our mounts walked on. Several times his mare stumbled in the soft sands, but she never fell. Impa's horse was faring the same ahead. Their nostrols flared as they sucked in hot air.

Ember and Hazaea endured as they always had in the heat. They were made for a place like this, with their thin coats and thin blood. Heat was nothing to them, they could run on all day in weather like this.

I sheilded my eyes from the sun and could spot the Fortress gate in the distance. It was still miles away. An hour or so more for the horses and then we could all rest in the coolness that was waiting ahead.

"What are you thinking of?" I asked quietly. My voice carried easily on the stillness and Link startled slightly. He had not been expecting me to speak. Was yesterday a fluke then? Did he not want to speak to me now that he had a small bit of time to think?

His glanced at me and then back down to the saddle he was holding onto. He was silent for a few moments, before he turned to me again. His face was expressionless and his eyes were even more guarded than before.

"Can you play the lyre?"

My breath caught in my throat.

Of course, I had taught him the melodies for the warps stations for the Temples. I wondered if he had asked Zelda the same question. I had tried to teach her during those seven years, but she had always fumbled and hit the wrong notes. She had no patience for it and had broken several of the strings on my lyre before I had given up on teaching her t prefect the skill that I treasured.

I could faintly remember the songs that my mother played for me as a child. But that was a different lifetime, where everything had been carefree. Before I had lost everything. Before I had been oraphaned by the monsters that roamed the desert, and ultimatly by their master, the man who had nearly destoryed the entire kingdom in seven short years.

"Yes, I can. Would you like me to play something when we get to the Fortress?"

He paused. He knew what I was offering. It wasn't a simple melody, it was a chance to truely prove I was me. Few knew the songs that I had taught him, but Zelda was one of the few. If she had played for him, surely he had noticed the difference between her stumbling fingers and my steady ones. But reguardless, we knew the same songs. She could always use the excuse that she was tired, or that her fingers hurt.

But I remembered then. I had been waiting for him to imerge from the Forest Temple, his first test as a true Hero. I was sitting on the broken steps, watching the Moblins fill up the small maze once more, pulling their dead brethren into a heap in the meadow and setting fire to the corpses.

I had been idly playing a song as I did so. It was one of the songs that I could remember my mother playing. Soft and slow, a lullaby of sorts perhaps. I hadn't known he was standing behind me and listening until I sighed and went to lean back. I nearly had a heartattack when I bumped his knees.

I had stared a moment, then flipped forward and off of the steps, deku nut flashing as it hit the ground before I did. I wrapped myself in the shadows and transported myself a small, higher distance away.

He had stood there for a few moments, looking for me before climbing down and heading back to the Kokiri Village.

"Why wait until then? Surely you could do so now?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

I held up my hands.

"I don't have my lyre with me."

He didn't reply. He just went back to staring at the saddle.

"What song would you like to hear though, Hero?"

All I got in response was a slight shrug.

I held back a sigh. Now, I was sure he was expecting trickery of sorts. That I would slip away when we got there and find some magical lyre that could play by itself or something of the sort.

The rest of the journey passed quickly as I rode next to Link. We could hear snatches of Impa and Nabooru's converation but had no intrest in it. I looked over at the Hero several more times during the ride, but he never once looked up.

Epona stubled again as we hit the hard stones of the desert floor before the gate. I supressed another sigh, this one of relief, as we passed under the shadowed arch. The cool air hit us, bringing with it the smell of water. We urged the horses up the small hill and stopped them before a water trough. I unbuckled Ember's riding pad and let her shake out before motioning to the guard closest for hay.

She nodded and enlisten the help of her friend before heading to the nearest entrance for fodder for our horses. The others dismounted as well. Nabooru motioned for us to follow as she headed towards a different entrance than the guards had used.

I rubbed my damp hair as we entered the stone halls, the temperature drop causing goosebumbs to raise on my bare arms. We walked on in silence for the most part, Nabooru calling out greetings to those we passed.

Ashia was in one of the kitchens that we went through.

She gave me a worried look, but didn't move from the her spot near the ovens. I would find her later and talk then, but for now, I needed to stay within Link's sight. Finally we came to the chambers that I had met them in the day before.

Nabooru didn't halt here, but kept going, through a door at the back of the room. Her room and mine, as well as several guest rooms were within. She showed Impa and Link each a room that they could freshen up in, and excused herself to do the same.

Link paused for a moment and then turned away.

"Wait," I called out to him.

He stopped, then slowly turned, locking his blue eyes with mine.

"I thought you wanted to hear me play?"

He blinked, looking temperarily stunned at the fact that I had adressed it first thing instead of going my own way. He nodded and followed when I motioned for him to. Nabooru winked at me as she shut her door behind her. I could feel Imaps's eyes on us as we walked away.

I opened the door of the room next to hers. I watched him as he looked over the room.

It was very plain I had never needed much. A bed in one corner with heap of blankets to protect from the cold desert nights, a desk in the opposite. Maps were tacked to one wall, books and scrolls covering another. And there, near the window, his eyes stopped. I had asked for a small single shelf to be put in during one of my visits. My lyre sat on it's lengh.

I walked over and picked it up gently and turned to him.

"What would you like me to play?"

He paused a moment.

"There was only one song that I heard my guide play that didn't have to do with the Temples. I wouldn't mind hearing it again."

I swallowed my laugher at his implications that I wouldn't know the song, and offered him a gentle smile that he did not return.

"Certianly," I told him softly, before moving my fingers.

Melody poured out, gentle and sweet, soothing my fears and perhaps his. I closed my eyes as I lost myself in the music. Minutes passed and I was lost in memory. I played through to the part where he had snuck up on me that day, cutting of abruptly as I reached the notes he had startled me out of.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

His mouth was parted slightly and his eyes were wide. He didn't move as I turned and set the lyre back in it's place. When I turned back around he hadn't moved. Still staring at me, and I realized he was standing there in not shock, but amazment and something else I was unable to identify.

Something in his eyes let me know that I had played it right, but there was something else that tugged softly in my mind. Perhaps he had known somehow that Zelda had lied to him that day. Perhaps he had known all this time, simply and only unknowing if we would ever met again, or why I had left him in the first place.

"You, knew, didn't you?" He didn't answer me.

"You knew that we weren't the same person, but she never told you the truth. No matter how many times you asked her to play for you, she refused after the first few times you asked her to play that song, because she knew that somehow you had heard me play something that I had not taught her."

Slowly he nodded.

Relief shot through me, followed by imense guilt. Pain sharded through me like tiny fragments on glass. He had known, and still, I had not returned to that land. To him.

"How did you know?" I asked him, turning my eyes down before he was able to register all of the emotions running through their crimson depths. I was unsure if I would ever beable to gain his trust now. How could I ever expect him to forgive me for what I had done, especially if he had known all along. I had allowed mistrust to grow over the years without ever knowing.

And then, light as a feather, fingers touched my chin, lightly tilting my head back up.

I froze, my heart sent to a new speed as I realized how close he was. Summer blue whelled up in front of me, consuming all of my attention. I was unsure of what he could see in my eyes, but I knew I couldn't cage all of these emotions no matter what I tried. He stared at me for several long moments that seemed to last for an eternity.

"Your eyes," He said finally. "Your eyes are so much different than hers."

Both relief and wrenching sadness jolted through me as he stepped back a few paces.

And then, something I saw something I thought perhaps I never would see again in my life. He stood there, his eyes a bit more open and I saw a flicker of our old trust in them for a moment as he returned my smile from earlier, gentle and warm.

"Thank you, Sheik. For playing for me."

I nodded, afraid that if I spoke emotions would overtake me. Thankfully, he seemed to understand. He dipped his head to me, another silent thanks, and left my room in favor of finding his own to wash and change into fresh clothing.

As soon as the door shut quietly behind him, I shakily walked over to the window behind me. I pulled the red curtian back and lit a small lamp that hung on a nail. From there, I lit three sticks of insense, praise and thanks to the Goddesses.

For whatever reason, they had offered me this second chance that I feared would never come.

I intended to make the most of it.

I sank to the ground next to the window after I places the sticks in their holders.

Trembling and overwhelmed, I felt tears slip down my face.

A knock sounded out on my door. A second followed quickly behind it.

The door opened without pause and Nabooru stepped in.

She made her way over and hesitated, momentarily confused by both my tears and the lit insense. I gave her a crooked smile and she sunk down beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder. I leaned my head on hers in return.

She wound our hands together and tightened her grip.

A new feeling had filled my hollow chest.

Hope.

A/n: hmmm... Well, at least now things can progress better between Link and Sheik now. I hoped that you all like it. Please let me know that you think. Can't wait to hear from you all!

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	7. Across the Plains

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n: Thank you to all of those who reviewed the last chapters. And a huge, huge thank you to Mermaidella, who is now the beta for this story. So if there are any remaining mistakes in the chapter, it's my fault, not hers, cause I added a few thing after I got the chapter back. I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter as well as the previous ones.

Happy reading!

Chapter 7 : Across the Plains

Nabooru left my room after an hour had passed. The incense had burned itself out at last and I rose to replace it and light three more sticks. Vanilla, and sandalwood and a light crisp citruis wafted through the open window and out into the breeze.

I sat on the ledge and stared at the parade grounds in below me. Guards of all ages were chattering about their day while they switched their shifts. I knew that Nabooru was now meeting with those she would leave in charge in her absence, Impa most likely with her. And so, I had time to waste, or rather, to use at my leisure for a while.

I was unsure of where Link was, but I had another person that I needed to speak with before the day was done. I rose from the sun warmed ledge and headed over to a small side room. A basin of water stood on a stand and I dipped my hands into the cool water. I grabbed the small rag next to it and set about making myself presentable. I was covered in dirt and dust from my three rides in the desert sands.

I changed into fresh clothing when I was done. Light fawn colored loose pants and a thin white shirt. I pulled on a pair of deep red tough leather gloves that tracked from my knuckles and thumb to the back of my elbows. Ashia had given them to me as a gift when I had been presented with Ember after watching the guards struggle to catch and hold her. She had told me that I would need them if I didn't want horse teeth sunk into my wrists.

She was right of course, but they would be useful on this trip for many other things as well.

I headed out of my room, pausing in the hall for a moment, before heading down the hall. I wound my way slowly through the Fortress, savoring the coolness of the stone and the familiarity of my home.

* * *

><p>We rested for the night at the Fortress and set out again at dawn the next day.<p>

I had bidden farewell to all my friends the night before. Ashia was undoubtedly concerned and had voiced her opinion of me staying put and safe at the Fortress. Gently, I told her of the perils that were settling over the land, knowing that she had enough sense to keep what I spoke of to herself. She agreed to keep a close eye on Nihiam, Trian, and some of the other younger guards who liked to wander in the scrub lands and rocks of the desert outside of the gate.

I settled Ember into pace next to Epona. The lighter red mare shook her flaxen mane and whickered to my own mare, who sidestepped and nipped at her larger fellow. Link turned his face away, trying to hide the smile that made its way to his lips as I tapped Ember on the neck. She stepped back into place and acted as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

In the cool morning air, we set forth down the path to Hyrule at a comfortable trot. It was only half and hour or so before the cliff walls veered off, allow us a view of bright green fields.

Impa, who had been leading our group, halted her horse at the entrance. She waited until we all stopped our mounts beside her. For a moment, everything seemed alright at first glance.

But in the distance, I could see it.

The tree tops of the forest of the Kokiri were visible, and the sight sent a wave of fear and anger into my gut. Pale yellow gold and vibrant bright red covered large sections of it. The trees were turning in the silent air. They were dying in the same place that they had thrived in for so many years.

The mountain of the Gorons was ringed once more in dark smoke and fire was spat up into the air at random intervals. Large boulders tumbled down the mountain scape, crushing everything in their paths.

There were no people on the grasslands of Hyrule, no animals. No movement other than natural anywhere. The wind whipped over the long blades, causing them to ripple violently. Just as the desert had, this place too was warning us to turn back.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes more before Impa nudged her horse forward.

When we were parallel to the Kokiri Forest Link slowed Epona to a walk. I dropped Ember back with him and matched the slow pace. He was staring at the entrance, a tunnel of large trees and rock that zigzagged back and out of sight. These trees were still the deep green that they all should have been. Beyond them I could see the vibrant yellows and reds that I had seen from a distance an few hours ago.

We seemed to creep up on them, as if there was more ground in front of us than we recognized there to be. The air seemed heavy and disturbed. It made me uneasy and I shifted on Ember's back.

A noise whispered in my ears and I tilted my head.

I paused in my movements, stiffening at the strange sound. It seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. A slightly creaky sound. Soft, but dangerous.

Then realization hit me like lightning.

Oh, I was so stupid. I knew what that noise was, but everything seemed to happen to o quickly for me to do much about it. I gripped Ember with my calves and smacked her neck as hard as I could, causing her to shy to the side, nearly running into Link and Epona.

"Everyone down," I yelled in the same moment. They all jerked as I heard a sharp twang. I cried out as a sharp pain lanced through my arm. If I hadn't made Ember move, the arrow now embedded in my arm would have been in my back, through my heart. There was commotion beside and ahead of me as the horses began to panic.

I reached over with my left arm and snapped the shaft off, leaving a few inches jutting out of my skin. I glanced at the fletching as I threw it to the ground. Crow feathers, black as pitch lined perfectly along the back end, giving it deadly precision in flight. They were a sharp contrast to the nearly white wood of the arrow shaft.

Adrenaline rushed through my system and blocked out the pain for the moment.

I glanced around but there wasn't any movement that caught my eyes. Whoever, or whatever, had shot the arrow was gone now. I looked over my shoulder as a muffled thump sounded out behind me. Link was on the ground. He sat there looking dazed for a moment and my heart nearly stopped.

Had he been shot too?

No, he stood and shook himself off. Then he turned to me, his mouth open to say something when he spotted the length of arrow still in my arm. His eyes widened and he was by my side in a flash. He reached up and wrapped his arms around my waist, tugging me gently to the ground. And I let him, not wanting to make a fuss when I could tell he was worried.

He stood me on my feet and one hand let go of my waist. He glided his fingers around my wound, a feather soft touch brushed my skin. It burned, but not in the painful way. It burned deep within me, sparking a fire that had been naught but coals and embers for so long, drowning out the hurt. I could feel a small wisp of heat on my face at his sudden closeness.

He turned his face and locked his eyes on mine and I was drowning in that pure blue once more. The worried look on his face softened a bit as he stared at me. His fingers left my arm and he turned away. I watched as he took a few steps and plucked an arrow from the ground, studying the sharpened tip.

It was ash, fire hardened and rubbed to a point. There was no metal barb, nothing to hook and tear my flesh. I flinched when Link took a step back towards me, his face full of grim determination. He placed his hand on my wounded arm and I leaned against him, gripping his shoulder.

His fingers trailed up my arm again and I concentrated on the feeling of his skin on mine. I closed my eyes as he lightly grabbed the remaining piece of arrow shaft.

I didn't even feel him tense, and I didn't feel him move, but I felt it when the arrow tore from my flesh. I muffled my yell into his shoulder and dug my nails into his shirt. He was murmuring words to me, but I couldn't understand them. It hurt. It hurt so much more than it should have.

His arms wrapped around me as I tried to hold out against the blinding pain. I realized after a few moments that while one hand was rubbing in small circles on my back in attempt to sooth me, his other arm was around my waist, but held still. I glanced down at the bloodied arrow.

Metal gleamed in the sunlight. It was double barbed and twisted cruelly to bestow the maximum amount of pain and damage. It shone crimson in the bright light, stained with my blood. But underneath the blood the metal shone slightly purple. It was poisoned then, but with what I was unsure.

Several of the poisons that tinted purple were deadly. I stared at it, contemplaiting whether or not to say anything when I noticed that part of the shaft was blue, stained blue.

Relief flooded through me. The metal was purple because my blood was overlaying the blue tint it had.

Boar's Bane was the most common plant used on arrowheads. While it was dangerous in high doses, it was a mild sedative when used to coat an arrow. The plant was cut up and boiled with water and arrows were dipped in and set to soak for five minutes. It was used to slow down the deer and the antelope of the grasslands and woods. It was easier to take down prey that couldn't run faster than you or your horse.

There were several other plants that tinted blue as well, none of them deadly.

I turned my head and pressed against his neck, trying to breathe steady and deep but all I could manage were short, shallow gasps.

"Sheik, I need to wrap it. You're bleeding."

I nodded against his neck and braced my legs steady against the ground. He turned and grabbed something to his left. I blinked and followed his line of motion. Impa stood there, her face impa s sive as she looked at me. I tried to look beyond her, to find Nabooru, but I couldn't focus through the throbbing pain.

Gentle hands wrapped my arm as quickly as possible, but it didn't stop the pain. Once he was done a sigh ripped from my lips without my permission. Impa had left from our side and I spotted her crouched down on the ground next to a still figure.

My heart nearly stopped in my chest for the second time that day. I didn't realize that I was moving foreward until Link put a hand out to stop me.

"She's alright, Sheik. She was knocked out when we were attacked, but she'll be alright."

I nodded, but didn't take my eyes off of my friend's form. Nabooru was strong, and she could take care of herself. But seeing her on the ground, looking small and frail, I couldn't help the lump that settled in my throat. At least she was still alive. We were all still alive.

For now anyway.

I listened as Link went on, telling me what had happened after I nearly knocked into him on Ember. I hadn't registered more than the sounds during the attack, but I had heard the horses cry out, as well as their riders. I hadn't realized then that the arrows hadn't all been shot at the same moment. The archers had waited until everyone was focused on me, then let lose a small volley on them, mostly likely to frighten more than cause harm.

For some reason, they had decided that I was some sort of threat to them, but I didn't understand. Surely Link was a bigger threat then I was, wasn't he? He was the Hero of Time, savior of Hyrule. To most people, I was unknown. Not to these, for whatever reason.

I listened to the rise and fall of Links voice, tuning all other thoughts out.

Nabooru's mare had reared and overturned on itself and her. There were no broken bones on either of them, a miracle, but my friend was now out cold and would be for quite a while. Impa's horse had taken an arrow through the leg, laming it. No other arrows on the field were barbed, save for the one that he had pulled from my arm. Impa would ride with Nabooru the rest of the way to the castle.

And I would ride with Link.

My heart skipped a few beats as I registered this through the throbbing pain.

I knew Ember wouldn't be able to support the both of us for very long and I would get to rest as well, so I readily agreed. My mare whinnied as I walked towards the other horse. She knew I was hurting. I turned and patted her nose and struggled to keep walking. She followed close behind me, until we reached the larger mare.

It hurt to get up on Epona. I had to scrabble to keep my balance while Link tried to steady me with his hands. I felt nauseous but I managed to hold still and stay upright long enough for him to swing up and settle behind me.

Impa had climbed up behind Nabooru, reaching forward and pulling the unconcious woman back against her.

Slowly, we set out at a walk, angling closer to Lon Lon Ranch and the safety of its walls. Ember and Hazaea trailed behind us, calling out every once in a while. I would whistle back to them and they would quiet for a while, before calling out to reassure themselves again.

The ride was long and slow, each jolting step of Link's arm sent pain flaring throughout my body. My wound had stopped bleeding, but only after it had soaked through the makeshift bandage. It seemed to take forever. The sun beat down on us, the breeze gently bringing the smells of castle town with it.

Freshly baked goods, spices and fruits drifted through the air as we closed the distance. I was leaned back against Link as he guided his mare and stayed on the alert for any more enemies. I could help but doze as we rode on. Link was warm and his heartbeat was steady in my ears. The scent of the desert still clung to him.

And only because that scent of heat and sand was so familiar to me was I allowed to pick out other scents that I wouldn't have noticed before. Then again, I had never really been this close to him before.

He smelled like cinnamon bark and lemon grass, an underlying scent of damp, rich earth and cool water clung to him as well. It reminded me of not the Kokiri Forest and their village, but the Lost Woods and the Forest Temple and the wilds of the deep woods and meadows. The places that he loved the most.

I allowed a small smile to reach my lips as my eyes closed and I slipped into sleep and I didn't open them again until Link nudged me gently with his hand. The drug that was in my system knocked me out quickly.

I blinked a few times, still far enough in sleep to be unaware of exactly where we were. As I looked around, recognition jolted me wide awake.

Castle Town.

It had been over five years since I had last seen the inside of these walls. Everything was rebuilt and seemed bright and fresh. It was peaceful here once more. Children played in the market square, darting around the legs of the adults who were shopping and haggling prices with vendors. Some stopped and stared, but most ignored our small ragtag parade as we filed past.

The guards blinked down at us from the gate as we approached. We were nearly there and my heart gave a searing pain as I thought of Zelda. Link raised his hand at them, as did Impa. Immediately the gates were flung open as our group was recognized.

Link pulled me down gently after we passed through the gates. I wobbled for a moment, taking in the tall white stone walls and the shining gleam of the guard's armor. The clear waters of the small moat and the bright colors of the banners that snapping in the breeze.

It had been so many years since I had last been here, and never had I seen the castle before Ganondorf had taken hold of it. In those days the stone was blackened and ruined, but it had been replaced with new white glimmering stone now. Perhaps this was the way the castle had looked like before the evil had tainted it. This was exactly like what the Princess had described to me all those years ago.

It was beautiful.

I leaned against him and his arm tightened around my waist. My arm still stung and I was bleeding through the bandage. But I had woken from my drugged sleep.

"Come on, let's go find the doctor and get that fixed up. And then we'll get some food. Maybe a nap. Sound good?"

I chuckled lightly. It was always the simple things that had made Link happy.

"Yes, that sounds wonderful."

He smiled at me and tightened his hand on my hip, reassuring me and himself that everything would be alright.

And I knew somehow, that it all would be.

All I would have to do was remember the sound of his heartbeat in my ears.

I smiled back at him.

Yes, everything would be just fine.

A/n: I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. I'd love to hear what you think. Thank you all for reading.

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	8. Blood in my Veins

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n: A huge thank you to all of those who have reviewed this story so far. I never thought that I would get this much response for this story. I can't believe that so many of you put this on alert or your favorites as well. It's amazing. You guys are so awesome. I can only hope that I can continue to please you all with the dtory as it progresses. I hope you enjoy this chapter. *Lots o Huggles*

A giant thank you to Mermaidelle for betaing this chapter. Without her, it would be riddled with errors. *huggles*

Happy Reading.

Chapter eight: Blood in My Veins

I watched as dawn crept into the world. The new light burst over the treetops and onto the gates and walls of Hyrule and Castle Town. Birds called and sang out as they fluttered from one tree to the next. Smoke curled up from the shops as the townspeople began their day. The guards below on the walk stood straight and still, sunlight reflecting off of their polished armor.

I sat on the thick ledge, my legs stretched out in front of me. My arm was wrapped tightly in clean bandages and the pain was more bearable than the previous night. The healer had cleaned the wound with a clear liquid that had burned so badly I nearly screamed. But it had helped with the pain and wiped the last traces of Boar's Bane from my torn skin. She slathered on a thick red paste, telling me I should rest my arm for another day or two. She wanted me to come back during the afternoon so she could change the bandage and so she could see how it had healed.

Red potion was a common heal all in these lands and worked well on all wounds. It just depended on the severity for how long it took and how much you would need. The salve that the Royal Healers used was stronger than the bitter bottled liquid for common people. What would have taken a week would now only take a day or two. It was perfected for use in battles and skirmishes.

I turned at the light snoring that suddenly filled the air. Link was sprawled out on one of two beds in the room we had been given. The blankets were only half covering him, revealing an extensive network of scars that mapped his body, shining silver against his lightly tanned skin.

I had them too. Near misses and almosts were once a constant in our world. And as I thought of the missing Sages, the Cavuduit creatures, and the black rider, I knew the time was drawing nearer to where it would be constant again.

This land was only just starting to regain its stability and stand on its own once again and now there was a new threat of war on the horizon. There were many missing from the years that Ganondorf ruled, and many others that had never recovered from those dark days.

My eyes trailed upwards. Blond hair was mussed and sticking up in some places from when he rolled during the night. He shifted restlessly to the side and smacked out at his pillow. My eyes locked on a scar on his backside, one that reached from his left shoulder to his hip. While I knew where nearly every one had come from, it was scars like that one that made me cringe.

Scars from Temple fights, glancing blows from enemies that he had been forced to turn his back on.

Scars he had gotten because I was forbidden from helping him clear the Temples.

Scars that he didn't have to have.

A soft sigh escaped me and I turned back to the window. The sun was rising rapidly in the sky, climbing in the clear blue. I sat there a while longer, looking at the landscape, but looking past it at the same time. My eyes wandered, but took in nothing.

A fist hit the door, sending out a resounding boom and then it was promptly flung open.

"That woman drives me insane!"

Nabooru stood there, her face slightly reddened and her eyes a flat, angry gold. I sat up quickly and slipped off of the ledge.

"What happened," I asked her quietly.

She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. Link had woken up when she slammed her hand on the door and now sat there in his bed, staring at her with wide blue eyes. She stared back, her face reddening even more in shame.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she murmured to him.

" 'S alrigh," he mumbled back, his voice heavy with sleep still. He brushed his hand through the stray hairs that had fallen into his face which did nothing to help the messiness of his golden locks. He glanced over to me, his eyes questioning.

"Perhaps I could talk to you later, Sheik?"

"Of course," I answered and then she was gone, slipping out the door and closing it quietly behind her.

I glanced back over to meet Link's eyes.

"Impa and Nabooru don't get along sometimes."

I left it at that, and he raised a brow. It wasn't my place to tell him anything about the ongoing dramatics between them. I couldn't tell him that Nabooru was in love with the older Sheikah, who refused to acknowledge it. Lady Impa had her duty to the Princess and that would always come first in her life.

I knew it and Nabooru knew it. But that didn't stop her from hinting to the older woman, who retaliated with sharp and cold words. The few times that my friend had left the Gerudo lands over the past years and came to the Castle had left her in a bad mood for days when she had returned. The other had told me each time that she had spent nearly the entire ride in near silence.

I was unsure of how deeply it ran. She had never said more than half a dozen sentences about Impa in all the years that I had stayed with her after the war ended. Just as I had tried to forget about Link, Nabooru had tried to forget about Impa. But when you truly love someone, it sinks deep into your bones and refuses to relinquish its hold.

The anger that she had in her eyes made me a bit curious as to what had happened, particularly because their rooms were across the hall from ours and I had heard no raised voices.

"I bet it's because they're so similar."

My eyes found his in the morning light. Link might be a bit clueless sometimes, or at least he used to be, but he had always been good at reading people.

"Yes, it is just so," I replied. "Shall we go find breakfast?"

He scrambled out of bed at the question and threw his tunic on in a hurry. His hand slipped a few times as he strapped on his belt and sword. It didn't radiate power like the Master Sword had done, but it was a beautiful weapon regardless. He finished and stepped forward. We shared a smile as we exited the room.

I followed him, treading lightly and looking at my surroundings. I needed to memorize the layout of the castle as quickly as I could. The last thing I needed to do was get lost here, especially if there was ever an attack of any sorts.

There was to be a meeting at midday, with all of the remaining Sages, as well as the Princess and her advisors and Link. He insisted that I was coming along as well, saying that I had been in the Temple when there had been an attack and my opinion was needed as well.

I smiled when Link turned back and glnced at me. We wove our way through the castle and finally to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>My heart clenched at the thought of seeing Princess Zelda again.<p>

We had nearly an hour before the meeting was to commence.

"Link, I think... I think I should talk to her first."

He rounded on me quickly, his eyes narrowed.

"So she can send you away again? I think not."

I watched his eyes darken and I reached my hand out to him without a word. My fingertips brushed his face and immediately his expression went blank. He had shown a caring lighter side to me in the past and in the last day as well, but somewhere inside of him, there was still bitterness and hurt welling up like a dam.

I didn't want him to hurt any longer, or to bring painful issues to light, but I needed to speak to Zelda. I knew I couldn't just walk into the meeting, springing all of this emotion on her. It would distract her from the job of making decisions to protect her kingdom.

"Please, Link," I pleaded softly.

His eyes gentled slightly at my voice and then he took a step back, leaving my hand touching only air.

"Fine, but I'm going with you."

I nodded. I had expected nothing less. I was a shadow of the past, returned to him. He wasn't going to let go of me anytime soon.

We made our way through the castle halls and stepped out into the bright sunlight. He led me down a path lined with guards, under an arch and through a small hedge maze. There was a tunnel of cold stone, and beyond it lay a small courtyard.

She stood there, her back to us.

White and blue, golden and pale. She was everything I remembered. The way she stood and held herself. He way she had her head tilted in thought as she gazed down at a small pool in the center of the yard.

I paused, staying just in the shadows as Link kept walking.

She turned as he approached and I found myself taken back in time as I stared at her face. She was older, I knew, but she looked nearly the same as when I had last seen her. Her lips twisted into a bright smile and her clear light blue eyes brightened as he stepped towards her.

And then she faltered, her smile fading from her face as she took in Link's expression. I could hear the soft murmur of his voice in the air, but I was just far enough away that I couldn't hear what he said to her. Her eyebrow crinkled in confusion and her eyes flickered past him, searching.

I stepped forward into the light and for a moment, the world stopped.

She stared at me with wide eyes, shock etched onto her features. I walked slowly over to them, stopping a few feet away from her. She had yet to move.

Would she be angry, or happy that I was here? Would she be resentful that I had made contact with Link after she told me it would be best not to?

And then tears filled her eyes and overflowed onto her cheeks. She came out of her stupor and moved towards me, sweeping me up in a tight hug. I raised my arms and pulled her closer, closing my eyes as she cried into my shoulder.

It seemed as if all the years hadn't passed. There had been times before the final battle, before the war had ended, that she had cried. She had been afraid that everything was going to disappear from in front of her. She had been afraid that she would lose everything and the countless lives that would have been saved would be ruined forever. And she had clung to me in those rare moments.

But those were gentle, quiet sobs. These were desperate and sad.

"I'm so sorry, Sheik."

Her words were between breaths, and she repeated them several times. I opened my eyes and saw Link looking at us, an unreadable expression on his face.

After a few more minutes, she pulled back. Light blue met my eyes, like the clear still waters of the pools in the Ice Caverns of Zora's Domain. There were strong emotions there, sadness and regret that reached into my soul. She raised her hand and wiped at her eyes roughly.

"I thought I would never see you again."

"I apologize, Princess. I was careless enough that-"

"No," she cut me off. "No, I should never have sent you away."

She glanced back at Link for a moment before looking at me again.

"I thought things would be so much more different than they have turned out. I was wrong."

She lowered her voice and took a step back towards me.

"It's my fault that he is the way he is, Sheik, not yours. I thought he would move on. I thought that he could be happy here. I was wrong."

I flicked my eyes up to meet a deeper blue. I couldn't see past his guarded expression very well, but I could see the resentment in his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was aimed at me or the Princess. I could tell that he did not think that she should be forgiven so quickly.

How could I not accept her apologies? She was part of my heart, my soul. I had lived with her for seven years, through the darkness that this world once was. We had survived because of each other.

We had supported each other, balanced each other in all things during that time. I could not turn away from that. Even though I was no longer bound to her through a duty, I was bound to her through something more powerful than that.

_You will be Balance._

I cleared my thoughts as the voice echoed in my head. I shook my head to rid myself of the images of sand that rose to the front of my mind.

"Perhaps we could discuss that later, Princess?"

She nodded solemnly. I did want to speak with her about it, but not with Link present. I wanted to reassure her that she did what she thought was best, but I knew if those words were said here and now it would do irreversible damage. Link would assume that I meant that what suffering that he, or I even, went through the last years was acceptable. It would break the bond that I wanted to reforge with him.

She turned to Link again and hesitated for a moment. I knew she could see it in him too. The anger, the resentment. It was simmering below his skin, and I knew that if he opened his mouth now, if she directed any words towards him, this would turn ugly quickly.

"If you don't mind, Princess, I think Link and I would like to go on a short walk before the meeting. There's no telling how long it will last."

She nodded again and stepped back. I grabbed Link by the arm as he started to open his mouth and guided him gently towards the arched tunnel. He snapped his mouth closed and tensed his arm, but didn't jerk away from me.

I glanced back once before we disappeared into the tunnel.

Zelda was standing there, watching us with the most heartbreakingly sad expression.

* * *

><p>I walked Link quickly to another smaller courtyard that we had passed earlier. It had been empty then, and was still so now. There were no guards stationed nearby either. I let go of his arm once we stopped walking.<p>

He immediately began to pace, irritation all too clear in his motions.

I paused, watching him, and it hit me hard.

As soon as he had realized that it was just us, he had dropped his guard. He had let down his mask, his defenses. I could see the anger in his movements.

I had already gained back some of his trust.

I would have to be careful from here on out. I had no desire to shatter what was building now. I didn't want to go back to the way it was before he had been flung back into it by fate. Something in me felt at ease instead of half numb all the time.

"Link," I said his name softly, but hesitated.

In that moment he swung around and took quick steps towards me. I jerked back a bit at the sudden movement, stumbling a few steps away from him.

"How can you just, how can you forgive her so easily? She sent you away! She lied to me!"

He stared at me, eyes full of anger and hurt. I lowered my eyes and stared at the grass to the left of his feet.

"I didn't want to leave, but it wasn't my choice. She thought it would be for the best. I knew in my heart that it was wrong. I knew it would hurt you and that's one thing that I never wanted to do."

I looked up and into his eyes. Anger was slowly fading out of them, lightening their color back to that of the bright summer sky.

"Promise me that you won't leave like that again," he whispered, his voice tinted with slight fear.

To anyone else, it would seem abrupt or almost rude to request a promise like that, but I knew what he meant. Unspoken words lingered in the air. Don't leave me again, don't hurt me again.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>The meeting was deep in the castle, the room and hall to it lined and guarded with over a dozen men in battle armor. Zelda was already seated at the head of the long rectangular table. To her right was Lady Impa, and next to her was Nabooru, who looked much more passive than she had when I had seen her that morning.<p>

The two seats to her left were empty.

The next seat on either side was occupied by the Sages Rauru and Princess Ruto. Beyond them were high ranking guardsmen and leaders of sorts from Kakariko and Castle Town. There were nearly twenty people in all.

I caught Zelda's eyes and she motioned to the seats to her left. We quietly slid into them, Link claimed the second, leaving me to sit next to the Princess. A slight frown tugged at her lips, but it vanished in a flash. She knew as well as I that it would take a while more for Link to forgive her for what she had done.

Zelda rose from her seat, and began to address the people that she had gathered here. From what I could tell, most of them had been to a meeting like this before.

"Comrades, friends, I thank you for coming. Today, we have two more that have come to help and support us in our planning and our fight to come. Nabooru, leader of the Gerudo and Sage of the Spirit Temple, and Sheik of the Sheikah, former guide to the Hero of Time."

Nabooru was known among those here, even if she wasn't seen very often, but I was unknown. Those present glanced at her before locking onto me with interest.

"We need to send out another small search party into the mountains."

The Zora Princess narrowed her eyes at Zelda.

"We? What good would it do to send more people out there? None of the others have come back. Let's just face it, whatever is out there has numbers and strength that a search and rescue party can't match."

Zelda smiled at her.

"Considering the new information that we have, I believe that they can. Lady Impa?"

All eyes turned from where they were still studying me to Impa. She rose from her seat and nodded to the Princess before facing those seated in the room.

"We searched long and hard for information on these creatures, and how to defeat them. There are no records housed in any of the villages or towns of these lands. The most we could get was a vague reference to the 'Dark Ones of the Shadows Tomb', but nothing more.

"The Princess stayed in prayer for nearly a week, asking the Goddesses for guidance. Afterwards, she dreamed of the earth, of the dead whispering into her ears words of wisdom, words of warnings, and of betrayal. There was only one place in my mind when she told me of this and she agreed.

"The Shadow Temple."

My heart beat sped up at the mere mention of the place. I had feared it the most of all the Temples. I had never been in it before, but Impa had told me of the tricks and horrors that it held for those who were not of our blood.

It had nearly driven me mad when Link descended into its darkness when I could not. I knew what lay in wait for him there. I could hear the dead whispering from the entrance that I sat in front of for five days.

"We searched for days on end in the darkness of the Temple. There are rooms there that have not been touched since it was created. Rooms which are lost to all others unless a Sheikah notices it.

"And deep in those rooms, we found an extensive library, filled with scrolls of truths that the people of Hyrule have forgotten. And there, we found the truth of this matter as well."

Eager to finally hear something of this enemy, those present leaned forward.

"They were given the name Cavuduit, for they are made from the cadavers of the dead."

I watched Ruto jerk back, no longer interested in hearing about the creatures. The disgust on her face was clear.

"They were created through the darkness and magic of this world, twisted and melded into mismatched grotesque forms. It was a forbidden art, and punished with exile or death."

Impa flicked her eyes to me for a moment and I didn't recognize the emotion in them. She blinked and it was gone, replaced by a steeled determination.

"There was only one race in these lands who possessed the magic strong enough to successfully raise these creatures from the grounds and meld them together; only one race that held a grudge through generations."

I knew what the next words out of her mouth would be. Magic was one thing that ran in my blood, deeper and stronger than anyone I had ever known, except for Impa. How ironic for her to be the one to have to report on this subject.

I clenched my hands, my whole body tense. Link looked over at me, his blue eyes filled with worry. I wondered if he already knew.

"The Sheikah are the only ones. And with diminishing people not even I had heard the stories of these exiles. How many are there, high in the mountains? Many races of Hyrule have banished criminals into the high peaks beyond the mountain of fire. Others have fled there of their own volition. Their numbers are unknown."

"And still you want us to send a group out there, blind to what they could walk into?"

Zelda turned her eyes to a man halfway down the table. He was lean and worn looking, battle scars lining visible skin. He had fought in the last battles surely. He had fought to rid the land of darkness and yet here he was, sitting in denial of a false hope that this would not turn into war if we just left it alone.

"None of your people, Captain Drail. The guards are not skilled enough in certain areas for this, regardless of their training. I mean to send a smaller group, one that won't be so easily apprehended. That is, if they are willing to do so."

I met Nabooru's eyes and they narrowed as she watched me. I turned to Link, but he was staring at Zelda, the two of them locked in a wordless battle. He sighed and looked down, leaving the Princess to turn her eyes on me. Light crystal blue silently asked me.

_You will be Balance._

I could not say no. It was my people who were in those mountains. The blood that flowed through our veins was the same. To send any other there would be suicidal for them.

I nodded to her and she smiled back at me, but it was a smile of sadness. I wondered why she had changed so in the past years. She was breathtaking and beautiful, but there was an air pf permant sadness about her.

There was more that she and Impa knew, more than she had told me at the Temple, and more then she had said in this meeting. She had said very few had mastered the power to be able to summon them from their state of dead. Why were so many banished then?

Noise exploded from around the room and Link's leg brushed against mine as I sat there, accepting what had happened as fate. It had been twisted just so, that I would come here, that I had been found at all. But it seemed impossible to me that no one had known of another Sheikah village before this.

We weren't alone.

I couldn't quite wrap my mind around that.

I was unhearing as the voices continued to argue with one another. Within the past week, my entire world had been turned upside down. And now I felt what little ground I had recovered was lost.

I don't remember everything that was said after that. The meeting was dismissed not long after. We rose and softly said our goodbyes. Zelda told us that she and Impa would find us later, to discuss plans and our departure more thoroughly.

I trailed behind Link in the halls, my mind racing and standing still at the same time.

Wordlessly we entered our room. He disappeared into the washroom and I went to the window, numbly looking out at the world. He came back out after a minute and stood there, watching me.

There was no need for words as he tugged on my arm. I followed him to his bed. He pulled me down next to him and I curled up against him. His arms tightened around me for a moment, then loosened, but he kept me close. He knew that this information had rattled me.

A soft kiss was pressed to my hair and his scent filled my nose, calming me somewhat.

There were more of our people out there, and I would have to bring myself to fight against them, to kill them.

My heart ached as I snuggled closer to Link.

Nothing was ever easy in this world.

I closed my eyes, contented to ignore duty for a while for the first time in years.

As I drifted off to sleep, I heard it again.

It echoed like an alarm.

I saw the light, and I saw a figure and images from my past.

One now locked away in his eternal dark prison, one with white hair, dark aged skin, and eyes as red as my own.

_You will be Balance. _

A sword at my throat.

_But which will you bring little Sheikah?_

Golden eyes staring down at me, a deep voice echoing around me.

_Darkness, or light? Will you destroy, or create?_

I sighed and gave myself over to sleep.

A whisper across the sands.

_You will be Balance._

A/n : Well, I hope that you like the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it. Thank you for reading.

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	9. Eyes Like Fire

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n: Thank you to all of those who read and all of those who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are awesome. :D

A huge thank you to the ever lovely Mermaidella for betaing this chapter.

Happy reading :D

Chapter Nine : Eyes Like Fire

Two days had passed since we had left Castle Town behind us. We had arrived at Kakariko Village within an hour from leaving Castle Town. Impa and Nabooru had both been granted permission from Zelda to accompany us. They would meet with the soldiers posted in the town and stay until we returned from the mountains.

No one knew how long the wait would be, and fear curled in all of our stomachs as we silently thought of the maybes and what ifs.

We stayed there long enough to settle our horses and to bid our friends farewell. Nabooru surprised Link when she latched onto him with a fierce hug. He stood frozen for a moment, blinking a few times before returning the hug. I watched a small smile tug at Impa's lips at the exchange. Nabooru detached herself from him and reattached herself to me, giving me a hug just as tight as the one that she had given Link, squeezing the air from my lungs in one movement.

They both walked with us to the gate and waved after we stepped through. The gate closed loudly behind us as we began the long walk up the mountain trail. Usually tektites were scattered here and there along the hard packed path, but for our journey there were none.

We stayed in the Goron City for the night. It was less lively with the Sage of Fire gone. His son greeted us and talked with us for a while.

We left before the morning light was fully up.

There were several trails cut into the mountain, all of them well used and worn, but old. We walked carefully, looking at our surroundings closely, observing and searching for what little life we could find. There were no signs of dwellings or recent travelers.

We took short breaks when we needed them. The Gorons had told us that they had only ever gone half a day or so into the mountains before, never beyond. They had myths of Shadows that wandered the ridges.

Yet we found no evidence of people. There were large shaggy creatures in the distance, bounding nimbly up and down the steep rocks. Now and then the squeal of a boar would sound out from the depths below us. Here and there snakes slithered from our path.

There was no need to take shifts at night. We were both light sleepers and already on edge from being on unfamiliar ground. It was so silent here that the smallest noise would wake us. I smiled as Link scooted a bit closer to me, mumbling something about staying warm. I closed my eyes and gave in to sleep, smile still present on my lips

Then I was being lightly shaken awake.

Link was propped up on an arm, looking down at me.

"You were talking in your sleep," he said softly, as if uncertain whether he should have woken me or not. "You sounded distressed."

Yes, I'm sure I did. Images from my dream resurfaced. Bright hot sand. A sword at my throat. The thrum of hoof-beats surging up the dunes. The lonely cry of my hunting hawk. The cool of the springs in midday. The setting sun. Golden eyes locking with my red. I could hear the Elder's voice in my head, as if I was hearing it for the first time all over again.

I tried to shake the thoughts from my head, but failed. It was the combination of new information mixing with past information. Riddles that I thought had been partially solved.

"I dreamt of the Tribe Elder... I thought he was talking about Ganondorf. He said _'Ours has a darkness that could end all light.' _He didn't mean Ganondorf at all; he wasn't talking about the desert people. He meant us, he literally meant ours, the Sheikah."

I looked over at Link.

"I thought that it was nonsense, that he was talking about the evil that radiated from Ganondorf. There was always a sense of wrongness about him, even when he was younger. You could feel it rolling off of him. But this new threat is much, much darker."

Link stared at me in slight shock.

"You knew Ganondorf when he was younger? You mean you knew him before he took possession of the Triforce of Power?"

I blinked. I had never shared any personal information when guiding Link to the Temples. It was not allowed at the time, but there was no reason not to do so now.

"Of course. We lived in the same region of the desert. Nabooru's closer in age to him than I am though, but she wasn't as familiar with him... She can remember more about him than I can, but I saw him more than she did. It was my job to hunt down rabbits in the scrublands. He was there a lot too, hunting.

"He wasn't as... unstable then."

I hesitated, trying to recall every distant memory of the red-haired young man that I could remember.

"They lived apart from the rest of the Gerudo, he and his mother. There is only one male child born to them every eighty to one-hundred years. He's raised in the desert, to ensure that he is strong, that he can survive... He needed to be, to be accepted by the rest of the Gerudo as their leader.

"His father was a Sheikah from our village. There was a bit of madness in him. I remember him muttering to himself as he walked the desert sands. He would just wander for days before coming back to the village... He threw himself from a cliff before he even knew that his lover was with child."

Flashes of bright colored cloth and blazing fire flickered through my mind. A desert Sheikah's funeral. The Kakariko Sheikah buried their dead deep in the earth. We burned ours.

"His mother died when I was eight and he lived on his own in a small cave about five minutes from our village. He remained there, on his own for nearly two years... He never spoke to anyone, and hardly anyone saw him except for me, and that was only during dawn and dusk, every few days.

"We hardly ever talked. He was so much older then I, a grown man by the time I was twelve. He rode with us sometimes when we went to the Fortress for supplies. He gave me a compliment on my hunting bird once... There was another time when we stood only a few feet apart for hours in one of the larger springs, catching fish... He helped me take the catch back to the village. We would watch each other sometimes, with no need for words. We watched sunrises and sunsets and the stars together without words...

I lowered my eyes as Link's darkened. I understood that it was hard for him to hear of Ganondorf in such a way. He was used to him being the evil creature that he had become, not an innocent like we had been. And it was obvious that he didn't like the fact that we had had previous encounters.

"We had the tentative bond, that slight trust that all orphans have with one another. But that was all. It was only a handful of times that we spoke to each other. I was always cautious around him, something about him felt wrong... Like a rotation that was off balance, like something ready to fall apart.

"Perhaps he tolerated me because I was the only one who never asked him how he was faring by himself. Or perhaps it was a comfort to have another living soul near him sometimes. In the desert, I was his one reminder that he was not alone... Sheikah are raised differently than other races. We grow up fast and our childhood is full of training, not games.

"Perhaps that was the reason he tolerated me."

I looked back up. Link's eyes soften at my last sentence.

"And then he was gone. For nearly six months, I went without seeing him on the high dunes and in the low scrublands. He wasn't at any of the springs, there was no smoke from his encampment... I went there once, but there were only old signs, no new ones to indicate that he was still living there.

"But I knew he was still alive. The vultures put up a fuss when there is a carcass in the desert. And the wind carried the smell of death easily. But there was none. I asked about him when we made the next trip to the Fortress. They hadn't even known he was missing."

I paused for a moment, trying to gather the words that I was to say next. It was from here that everything had gone wrong. In those months of absence and silence, all began turning, fate began to tilt our world even then.

"And then from out of nowhere, he returned... And with him, he had a large black horse and a heavy sword, gleaming with malevolence. His skin was cast greenish, as though he were ill. His eyes had a flat, hardened gleam to them... He was changed then. I'm not sure what happened, or where he went. The feeling of wrongness had grown, and there was a look in his eyes that I couldn't comprehend."

I glanced at Link again He was watching me with eyes wide, waiting for me to continue.

"It was only a few weeks since he had come back, and then he packed up what things he needed and set fire to the rest. I watched the smoke ribbon from the back of the caravan as we rode to the Fortress. He hadn't ridden with us since his return.

"He paused as he went to pass me on his horse, but stopped and turned to me. I was waiting on the outside of the gate for the caravan wagon to return with supplies. I had already been inside the Fortress walls for hours, and Nabooru had something she needed to do, so I sat outside a ways. There was a small half circle of rocks that I often sat on when we were there.

"He stopped and looked down at me. I met his eyes from my seat on the tall sun-warmed rocks that were scattered there. We were nearly on the same eye level..."

Crimson and gold, a good combination, a good contrast. The colors of my memories were bright, and in a way, comforting. There was very little that I didn't remember in my life.

"He knew who I was; I could see the recognition in his eyes... But it was then quickly replaced with something I still cannot name."

A small sigh left my lips. I knew what part of it was, but there was a burning that drew deeper than the madness, deeper than the pain. I drew in another breath and continued on.

"And then, in one swift movement he unsheathed his sword and held the blade level with my neck... I thought for a moment, he intended to strike out, but then he paused. A curious look came over him and he glanced down at his hand. His grip on the sword tightened, his hand was covered in a black gauntlet, but I noted the movement none the less.

"'Will you bring darkness or light?'

he asked me. I thought perhaps he truly had gone mad in his solitude and dismissed the words.

"But in his tone there was a lightening for a moment, a resonation of another's.

"I knew that he recognized some type of threat, but I was unsure what of, or why he lowered his sword anyway... I sat there, trying to figure out why he had spared my life. Was it a on a whim, or was it some sort of insight?"

Link shuddered slightly. I could tell it upset him to know that my life had been threatened by this man before all came crumbling down, before the kindom began it's ruin. It frightened him, that I was the first that could have fallen in the dark years of war and terror that followed Ganondorf's leaving from the desert. I did not fall because of a madman's instintual whim. But I could have, and all of this would be ashes of dreams and nothingness.

"I had yet to move. I had no fear of him, just the same curiosity that I had felt when I had seen him in the desert... The same odd feeling that I was linked to him somehow. Was it because of the time we had shared together in the desert or was it something else?

"_'I cannot kill you_,' he told me. _'Surely you realize that you are balance? You are equal to us all.' _

He sheathed the sword, and gave his mount a light kick.

"_'One day, we will see each other again. But when that time comes, where will you stand? What will you bring as Balance_?'

"And the Elder's word echoed in my head once more...'

"But still I didn't understand what it all meant then. I was a Sheikah, yes, but I was still a child in some ways. I knew nothing of the evils of the world... I didn't realize then that the feeling of complete wrongness that I had always felt radiating from him was the beginning of evil, the start of his madness.

"I often wonder now where he went during those six months... Thinking on it now, the horse that he had was similar to the one that Impa and I saw in the desert before we got to Nabooru. Ganondorf's was smaller, but they had the same make, the same way of standing, the same deep black.

"I wonder if perhaps he went into the mountains. Impa told me that there were Sheikah driven mad by the failed magic that they tried to create with... I wonder now if perhaps Ganondorf's father passed the Sheikah magic onto him, and through it, allowed his son to be able to access some small part of it."

I thought of my firends at the Gerudo Fortress. Of Ashia and the Sheikah blood that ran faintly through her veins.

"It happened sometimes, but unless that child was to grow up and later produce children with a member of the Sheikah, his or her children would not show any signs of the magic. It would dilute and disappear from the bloodlines, leaving behind the gold eyes and red hair of the Gerudo, instead of red eyes and blonde, white, or silver hair of the Sheikah.

"If he would have tried to perform something beyond his reach, it would have left its toll on him... I often wonder if that's what happened to his father as well. Only, while the darkness ate him from the inside, he realized and fought it, resulting in him ending his own life. Perhaps, if Ganondorf had failed in a summoning, he too had felt the darkness rising and eating at his soul... But I wonder if it overrode his senses and took control, or if he allowed it access without fighting it.

"Either way, it would explain the sudden change that had overcome him, the madness that was in his eyes from his return to the desert until his defeat..."

I fell silent, watching my companion. Link was thinking hard, his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. A small smile stole over my lips and I reached out a hand to him. He jumped as I brush his cheek, and though his face was now flushed, he offered me a smile in return. And then it faltered a bit.

"You did meet him again... You were at the Castle before I was. Did you bring something, as he said you would?"

"Of course I did. I brought you."

Link went silent for a few moments, processing all that I had said. I expected him to ask more questions, and he did, just not the ones that I had thought he would.

"You said something about the Tribal Elder? What did he say to you exactly?"

I hesitated.

I turned my eyes up to the moon and the stars. I sought out the familiar shapes that we were taught from infancy. The Sky Hawk, the Sand Horse, the Mountain Boar, the Soul Path, the Wandering Wolf, the Sword, the Winding Snake, and the Temple of Balance.

My eyes lingered on the last one. It was the same as the symbol that currently represented the powers of the Triforce. Three triangles, two on the bottom, one stacked atop the points of the former two. It glittered brightly in the night sky.

And that is what most think when they see the symbol. Three Goddesses, three Triforces. But there is more to it than that.

I slipped back into memory as I spoke. I closed my eyes and I saw the same as before. I had gone over the memory a thousand times, trying to interpret what it meant. Just when I thought I had it all pieced out, a piece fell into disarray. It was a puzzle that would only be solved at the last moment, when it needed to be, and not before.

"The Tribal Elder was the oldest man that I ever have known... He was thin, and short, with nearly translucent skin and a wobbly gait. But he had the clearest eyes that I can ever remember... It was as if he could see beyond anything that the rest of us could. He had never spoken to me before, but I had noticed that every now and then he would watch me, was if waiting for some type of sign. Then he would mutter something to himself and turn away.

"The day that Ganondorf raised and lowered his sword at me was the same day that the Elder asked to speak with me alone...

"He called for me as the sun began to rise over the cliffs.

"I entered his house, and sat where he bade me to. I was nervous. I was unsure of what he wanted with me. He never spoke to any of us children, but now, he spoke to me... His voice was faint, and slightly raspy.

""_Sheik_," he said in a faint voice, "_The world is changing, shifting. Soon, all will be overturned, and all will be on the edge of ruin."_

"He looked at me, staring through me with those clear eyes.

""_There is so much that will be bathed in darkness, but there will come a light... A day will come in your future when you will stand alone against all darkness. You must make the choice then. _

There will be times when you think that you are weak, but you are not... It is the darkness in your veins that will whisper this to you. It will tell you to turn down your eyes and to allow it forth. Do not let it overcome your senses.

"_"I have watched you through the years. I have seen glimpses of what is to come. The Goddesses have sent their voices into my ears, allowing me to see, and I have listened well. They have marked you out... It is destiny._

"_"You will see into the enemy and will not be destroyed. You will put an end to the madness and bridge the void that has grown deep. You will light the way for others to follow... You will give guidance to those who are also marked by destiny._

"_"There is always Balance, even if it is not seen._

"_"Ours has a darkness that could end all light. But it will be your choice. Beware the Blinding Light. Beware the Dark Soul... There will be Ruin beyond Despair, and Love beyond Fear."_

"Here he paused for a moment, taking note of my stillness and slightly widened eyes.

""Tell me, what do you know of the Triforce of the Three Goddesses? Do you know the symbol? Its shape?"

"I nodded, unable to trust my voice. What this man was telling me would shape my future and change my life forever.

"_"How many triangles are within it?"_

"_"Three," _

"I whispered.

"_"Four,"_

"He corrected.

"_"The three outline the fourth. Power, Wisdom, Courage. These are all good, but they would be nowhere without Balance... Balance is upside down, and invisible. You cannot see it, you cannot touch it... For every good, for every evil, there is a balance. This is what the Goddesses have chosen you for. They have seen into your soul. _

"_"This will be your purpose."_

"He held my gaze with his, his eyes softening slightly as he did so.

"_"There is no need to fear child, one day you will see. One day you will understand why all of what is to come must happen. _

"_"She will come for you soon... She will stay strong when we turn to dust and shadow and fade from this world. And you will begin to become the bridge... But many bridges are needed for all to be well. Not all remains forever. Like the sand, life is shifting all around us. _

"_"But remember, ours has a darkness that could end all light. You must remember that in the end. It will be your choice and yours alone... You hold the stone that is cast to create the ripples. _

"_"You must always remember. Nothing will be as it seems. You are the one who will decide. Darkness and Light must coexist... Wisdom and Courage, Power and Balance. You will be strong. You will be weak. You will be wise and stupid. You will be love and pain. You will be life and death... Heartbeat and silence, breath and stillness... _

"_"You will be Balance."_

My voice drifted off and I opened my eyes and stared at the sky. The morning sun was beginning to rise, bringing the light into the darkness. Slowly color stripped the sky. We sat there for a few moments, the silence sinking into us.

"Three weeks later, Impa came for me, as he said she would... Ganondorf was angry beyond reason. He destroyed my village and burned my tribesmen alive when he learned that not only had she successfully hidden Zelda from him, but had spirited me away as well... He had thought in time, that I could have been swayed and brought to his side.

"He struck out at the remainder of Lady Impa's people as well... He burned them alive as he had down with my people. I had to be careful when I snuck into Castle Town before you returned. He was ever watching for me, trying to find some grounds to turn the tide in his favor."

I looked over again at Link. He still had his face scrunched in thought.

And then came the sun, blinding red and gold shooting over the peaks.

And with it came a flash of images. Different scenes flickered through my head, some real, some dreams.

I saw the desert, and the different places in this realm.

The dunes and heat and the young man who had watched the stars, and the sunsets, and caught fish with me in silence.

Our flight for freedom across the burning land...

Years of hiding and training and arguing and becoming friends with Zelda above the waterfall that fed into the river that ran to Lake Hyrule.

My first return to the desert.

Ashes and smashed rock and bones...

The devastating loss and pain that had never fully left me.

The young man who emerged bathed in blue light from the Sacred Realm.

The burning mountains.

The ice floes that covered the waters.

The call of the Dead from within my people's old burial grounds.

The lush, mist and noise and monster filled woods.

The horrors of war and battle.

Bleak, barren fields.

The rising hope in the all the people as Ganondorf's hold began to break.

The madness in his eyes...

The quiet strength in Zelda's.

The determination in Link's.

The fires that blazed while they fought.

The lives that were saved and lost...

And in my mind, I could see moonlight on black, and I could hear a wordless voice calling out to me in the sands. The Elder's raspy voice rose up into my mind once more.

"This will be your purpose."

I knew now that even though the rider had been too far away, the eyes that were hidden under the cloak were deep crimson red.

Like every Sheikah's eyes.

Eyes like my own.

Eyes like fire.

"You will be Balance"

I turned to Link and curled up at his side, not wanting to hear these fragmented echoes of my past any longer. Gently, he stroked my hair, soothing my nerves and calming my scattered mind. Perhaps, as long as I was here, next to him, everything could turn out alright in the end.

I let a small prayer drift up as I blocked out the rest of the world.

Yes, everything would turn out alright. I would make sure of it.

In the distance, the bell sounded again, warning me of the danger that was coming. Deep, resonating peals echoing through the air, barely audible in the mountain heights.

Echoing through the air...

I bolted upright, startling Link.

This time the faint noise of the bells weren't in my head.

They were echoing in the mountain air.

They were real.

Our eyes met and in silence we rose and began to pack.

It was impossible to tell how far away they were, but at least now we knew they were still out there. Somewhere, waiting in the distance, was the answer to all of this.

We set out immediately, our senses on high alert.

Another sound called out into the air above the mountain tops.

The shrill cry of a hunting hawk...

A/n: Well, I hope that all of you liked the chapter. I had promised a few people more background and I have delivered. :D The next chapter will be back to the present, as this one ended in. So, like I said, I hope you all enjoyed it. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	10. Shadows Falling at Our Feet

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : Wow, I love you guys. I mean seriously, I love you guys. :D You are all the best reviewers ever in the history of reviewers! *huggles* You're all so wonderful. :D You make me want to track each and every one of you down for hugs :D

I'm sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, but as it was the holidays I'm sure that you all understand somewhat of the chaos and stress that I have just been subjected to. XD And there is snow here now. Slick and icy, snow and slush roads to drive on. Oh the joy.

I can't believe that this story is 10 chapters long and still going. I've never written this much for anything, ever. And I haven't really had many problems writing it either, unlike my other poor story that I often struggle with. And in the next few chapters it will be more Sheik/Link, I promise you. It just took me a while to get there. :D

An hugemongo thank you to all of you amazing people who have read and all of you amazing people who have reviewed. I really do love you guys :D

An enormous thank you to Mermaidella for betaing this story and helping me improve my writing :D

Happy Reading!

Chapter 10: Shadows Falling at Our Feet

Five days later, we still hadn't found anything. We turned and twisted and backtracked through the trails, taunted by the bells that sounded every morning. Each time we moved more than a day away from where we heard it sound out first, it would grow fainter. We had wandered back near our first campsite three times now. We had supplies to last us for several weeks yet, but the idea that, at this rate, we would have to turn back before finding anything useful was daunting and depressing.

And then from above us came the cry of the hunting hawk again.

I looked up. There it was, spiraling on the air currents. It swooped lower. White dyed leather was corded around one leg. This bird belonged to someone and birds don't wander very far from where they belong, and from where they know they'll be fed.

We were only half a day away from where we had first heard the bells.

I nudged Link and pointed to the sky. It took him a moment to spot the bird.

"Is that the same one from before?"

"It is a possibility, but I'm not sure. Does it matter?"

"If it leads us to the Sheikah that live here, then no, not at all."

I gave him a half-smile.

It had been rough over the last few days. The cold of the mountain nights was sticking in our bones. Our tension was high and our nerves were making the both of us very jumpy. But on the better side, no fire meant that we usually slept next to each other during the night to stay warm.

I'll admit, I could get used to that.

We followed the bird as it soared back towards the campsite we had the first night. We made it about halfway there, when the bird let out a sudden cry. It circled a few times and wheeled east and out of our sight. There were two paths a little farther down the trail. One led back to camp, the other was a dead end. It was the first path that we had taken when we set out that day.

"Perhaps we missed something," Link muttered, knowing well that we had searched for a continuing trail at the end of the path for long hours. Nonetheless, we turned and headed down the hard packed dirt and stone path.

An hour. Two hours.

Dead end.

We ran over every inch of the abrupt cutoff. I sighed loud enough that Link glanced over at me. I turned and leant up against the face of the mountain side.

"This is ridiculous. There has to be another trail somewhere that we've missed. That's the only explanation because there is absolutely no way that there is-"

As I was talking I leaned back hard, trying to press all of my frustration into the rocks behind me. Instead of absorbing my assault, the rocks behind me had shifted. I jerked forward sharply and stared at the rock face.

"A path here..."

Link watched me in confusion as my hands began searching.

"What are you doing?"

"Come here."

There was a slight niche. I jammed my fingers in as far as they would go and pulled hard.

That was unnecessary.

The rock was set just right that it would have only needed a light tug outward. I stumbled backward and into Link. Warm, long arms wrapped around my waist, steadying me. We both stared at the opening that had appeared in the mountain side that we had simply assumed was solid.

A door.

A path.

A tunnel through the mountains. A safety precaution that had served these people well. We had only found it through frustration and accident. We could have walked by it and many like it a thousand times and never have been aware of them.

I went to take a step forward but was stopped by Link. His arms tightened around me for a moment, then released.

"Be careful," he said, his voice low and full of concern.

I didn't blame him. There could have been an army of people waiting inside with sharp weapons pointed at us. I moved slowly, caution filling my veins, overloading my head with the thought that if I wasn't careful enough every step could be my last.

I peered into the darkness and listened for a few minutes.

There was no shuffling of feet, no scrape of swords being drawn, no nervous breathing besides my own. I heard a gasp sound out from Link as I slipped inside. No one rushed me or hit me over the head. No spears or knives in my gut. Several hundred yards out I could see a faint light, a dim glow from the sun.

I stood there in the dark for several more minutes. Any noise made in this tunnel would have been amplified and noticeable even from further away.

I heard nothing.

I slipped back out and was disoriented by the brightness of the midday sun when arms grabbed me. I jumped then slammed my eyes shut, knowing that sight would only hinder me at the moment and jerked back, instinct to escape kicking into overdrive. Fear enveloped me. Had I missed the presence of someone? Had they already gotten Link? Had they-

"Sheik, it's me!"

My heart thundered in my chest as I ceased all movement.

"You surprised me," I told him in a soft voice that didn't betray the terror that I had felt only moments before. I felt him pause for a moment, and then he pulled me back and into his arms, holding me close to his warm body.

He was always so warm, like the sun warmed stone in the desert that held their heat through most of the night. His scent washed over me, the same as before. Crushed lemongrass, rich earth, cinnamon, and cool water.

I leant my head on his shoulder, drawing up the strength to chase away the remnants of fear. In return he pressed a kiss into my hair, leaving me barely breathing and sending my heart racing.

A few minutes later I pulled away from him. I caught his eyes briefly before he turned them to the ground, a flash that was echoed in the sky above. I raised a brow at the hint of red staining his face. I'm sure that my own echoed it, but my heart fluttered at the sight.

We wordlessly gathered our things and stood in front of the dark passage for a moment. I stepped in first, Link close behind me. He made a movement and then a small flame flickered to life in his palm. I stared at him for a moment in wonder.

I knew that he could use Din's Fire, I had even seen him use it a few times, but never as he was doing now. The small flame sent his face, and I'm sure mine as well, into elongated shadows. He stepped in front of me and I followed him, glancing at the walls on either side of us as we progressed. Every now and then a tunnel appeared and arched off into the dark, but it was clear that none of them had been used in a very long time.

Finally we reached the part of the tunnel where the light drifted in from a hole carved into the rock above us. I could tell Link was relieved to be in a place where the sun could reach us. I could understand why. It seemed that every time that he went into a place without the light shining down, something bad happened to him.

Monsters creeping in dimly lit corridors, long dead voices whispering in the dark, evil curling around him as he strongly went forwards into the unknown by himself.

We walked and walked and walked. Slowly the light began to fade. Hours had passes since we first entered the tunnel that we hoped led through the mountain. We paused here and there to rest, but were too tense to remain in one spot for very long. The thin light gave way to dark and then time was gone from this place. There was no way of telling how long we walked after that.

Link returned Din's Fire to his hand when it got too dark to see once more. I could tell that even though it was a small bit of magic, it was wearing on him to keep it going for so long. Hylians had a very small amount of magic in their blood. They could cast spells but after a short time it drew the energy from their bodies. It was doing that now. Link was pausing more and more often.

Abruptly, we hit a dead end.

Link stood there for a moment, a defeated expression on his face as he stared at the wall, too worn to realize that we had come to the end of the path and not an actual dead end. He was tired and we needed to rest. I ran my hands along the stone in front of us and was rewarded with the same type of stone door that had been at the entrance. It swung open easily and without a single noise.

We stepped out into the night and were hit with warm air. I had thought of the air on the mountains as slightly cold before we had progressed through the tunnel, but I realized that we had gotten much colder under the mountain than I had thought.

I walked forward, each step cautious as I toed for the edge of the cliff.

The stars glittered above us, set in deep velvet. Link sat down as the door swung shut behind us, still noiselessly. I stayed standing, my eyes scanning the blackness for signs of life anywhere. There was no moon, so I was unable to see much, but a flicker of color in the near pitch black caught my attention.

Down below us fires shown out of the darkness.

Finally, we had found them.

Behind me, Link shivered from the cold that had seeped into his bones during our trek under the mountain. I turned and made my way back to him. I grabbed the thin blankets from our pack and wrapped them around us, twining us closer together.

I held him close and I whispered words of reassurance into his ear.

He shifted closer to me and mumbled something back. I returned the favor that he had given me earlier and pressed a gentle kiss into his hair.

And then I let the weariness wash over me and I gave in to sleep as well.

* * *

><p>It took us most of the day to climb down the mountain. There was a worn trail here as well, but it was littered with fallen rock and dirt from higher up the mountain. We moved carefully down the trail, hoping that no one would spot us before we even saw the other Sheikah village.<p>

There were other paths that veered off to the sides, but we remained on the one that was the most worn. Finally we reached the last part of our descent.

The sun was setting on the peaks, bathing this sky high world in bright reds and golds.

And there, stretched out below us, was a village. Houses and fires and here and there were dogs and horses. And people. I could tell even from this far above that this was it. Hair glinted in the ever dying light. Blonde, silver and white glinted like fire and gold. Their skin was a medium tan, glowing in the failing light like mine. It was too far away yet to see eye color, but I knew without a doubt that this was them.

The outcast Sheikah.

A warm had descended on my shoulder, gripping tightly.

I glanced back at Link, offering a small smile.

Together we began our descent into the valley.

Into this other, unknown world.

* * *

><p>We had circled the village halfway before finding a good spot to observe from. It had been Link that noticed that none of these people carried weapons on them as they carried on with their village life. I had been too busy watching the people themselves.<p>

There was so much similarity and yet so much difference from my people of the desert.

"Maybe they're friendly?" Link asked half hopefully.

I turned my eyes to meet his. He was still tired from our under mountain traveling. We sat there for a while more. They seemed friendly enough. There were no sentries or watchmen posted anywhere in sight. No one peered down the dusty path that flowed out of the village and to the side of the other mountain.

Clearly these people knew they had nothing to fear in this place.

I took a deep breath in and reached for Link's hand. He started slightly as I gave it a small squeeze. Deep sky blue eyes looked at me, his face just as unreadable at the current moment as it had been in the courtyard all those days ago.

"Trust me," I whispered to him, my words hanging in the air for a moment.

I took another breath and simply stood up and began making my way to the edge of the village, in plain sight of everyone there. Dusk was just settling in. The sun was gone from the sky, but the light was overall just fading from the mountain region. I could hear Link taking quick steps to catch up with me.

Suddenly, all the laughter and happy casual chattering died away and was replaced with a quieter murmur of whispered words that soon ended as well.

Red eyes stared at us in open curiosity. The scanned me over, and settled on Link. It was possible that none of these people had ever seen a Hylian. From a small house, an elderly woman appeared, a child of eleven or twelve tugging on her arm and pointing at us.

"Enough pulling Shia. I can still find my way around. Have you lost your horse, Lanthium? Do you require one of ours?"

"What?" Link and I asked at the same time, neither having heard the word before.

There was a slight pause in her speech and the words that followed it were quickly covered by the beginnings of whispers among the rest of the villagers.

"You are not one of the Lanthium, child?"

"No. I... We are travelers."

The murmurs grew louder.

She took small, shuffling steps until she reached us and paused.

"And where do you travel from, stranger? And what kind of man is this next to you? Blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin? Never has one been seen by my eyes."

There was a tensing behind me. Link shifted, just as unsure of the situation now as I was.

"A Hylian," I said, my voice catching and carrying in the silence.

All eyes locked on Link. Some of the mothers shifted their children away from him, as if he was going to lunge at them and tear them limb from limb. Others scuffled forward, to see him better in the near darkness.

"Who are the Lanthium?"

The elderly woman's eyes met mine again and I was suddenly reminded of my own Tribal Elder, with his eyes so clear and all-seeing. Her eyes had not been like that before. They had been those of a person knowledgeable in many things, but now they held the look of those who knew everything. It was eerie, and unnerving. Like she was seeing something that no one else could.

"Who are you, child?" She asked, her voice taking an odd tilt.

"Lady Sheikah, I am Sheik, the last of the Sheikah who once dwelled in the Desert of Hyrule. This is Link. He is the-"

"No, who are you, child? Why have you come here?"

"I don't understand. I... we just-"

"Who are you, child? What is your purpose here?"

Something clicked at those words.

"I see a fire in you... burning out every other existence," she whispered. "What is your purpose here, child?"

The annoyance and bewilderment faded away. She wasn't asking my name, or about my people, or about Link or how we had gotten through the mountains, or what horrors we may have brought with us. She was asking me something else entirely.

And so, I gave her the confirmation that she needed.

"I am Balance."

If I had thought the silence before was pressing down on us with a heavy weight it was nothing compared to the silence that hung over us now. It was pulling down, smothering us. Some wore faces of confusion, others horror, and a very few, awe. It made me nervous, as though I was faced with a pit of vipers and the only exit was on the other side.

"Come," she said as the bright light in her eyes began to fade, seemingly sinking back into her soul.

"Come and sit. We must talk."

She turned and shuffled back towards the small house she had exited from before. I turned and met with Link's eyes for a moment. In the fire light, the blue of his eyes seemed to dance between colors, purple and deep blue, like the sky had been painted as the sun faded from it.

He stepped up to my side, and together, we followed the elderly Sheikah.

* * *

><p>It was brightly lit in the house, due to the thin, beaten sheets of metal that were leaned and hung haphazardly around the main room. They reflected the light of two torches, making it glow like daylight.<p>

With a startling quick movement the older Sheikah plopped herself down onto a large cream colored pillow.

"You are the one that that half-blood desert thief saw in his vision," she stated calmly.

I couldn't keep my eyes from widening. Ganondorf _had_ been here then. This was where he learned the magic that shattered his mind. This was where the madness had begun to take over his soul.

She chuckled lowly

"I am Elder Shatia, one of six elders in these mountains. If you had come upon another village instead of this one, you may not have been received so generously."

"Because of what I am?"

Shatia nodded.

"Yes, you bring the end of an era with you. The downfall of generations of Lanthium." She caught the puzzled look on both of our faces.

"Lanthium is the name of the more powerful Sheikah, the ones who wield the Chaos Magic, the magic that runs through Sheikah veins. We have always had more magic than other races... the goddess Din looked upon us and saw one good thing of the people her sister had created. And so she blew to us a small breath of heat that sparked and lit in our veins. It settled over the magic that Nayru gifted all races with, becoming volatile... With this chaotic magic came the start of the Lanthium. In the beginning, they were not as they are in this time. Lanthium was the term for all those who could successfully wield the stronger magic of Din without burning.

"These Wielders are anywhere from two to twenty in number in a generation. Sometimes, the magic buildup is manifested in the half-bloods of your world as well. Like your thief king."

"Ganondorf is dead."

"I know of his downfall, child, and of what else has happened for you to have come here. The Lanthium feel that he has carved a path of destruction for them in the lands below these mountains. They have begun to continue where he failed, and in doing so, are preparing to bring your world to its knees... He took the power and the knowledge that he learned here and amplified it when he took hold if the Goddess's magic when he crossed into the Sacred Realm.

"In the end, he had more power then he could control and it drove him to the madness he died with... The Lanthium train many, but not all have the control it takes. There are powerful Wielders on these mountains. You too have the bloodlines and the magic in you to become one and the control to keep it, yet no one to teach you..."

Shatia hesitated for a moment, weighing something in her head.

"But perhaps...

"My late sister's great-grandson, Zei, is a captain among the Wielders...he was given the task of removing you from this world when the Lanthium learned that you were traveling to the Castle of Hyrule. He dipped the arrow in the wrong poison, but they do not know that. What they know is that he failed, and they punished him accordingly... I think perhaps he was swayed by your truth when he saw you, and knew the old tales were not just stories like he had been told.

"You have the power to change this world so completely. You can raise it up or cast it down. The Naha'lo, the Lanthium leader, is certain that you will not be able to control the Chaos Magic should you try to learn it. And to save your world, you must learn it... The Naha'lo has given orders to have you killed on sight since Zei did not complete his task.

"You are not a Wielder, but no one can say you are not one of those who carry the goddess's flame inside," she said softly. "You are like us, a Sheikah, but you have the potential to become so powerful. The potential to use the magic that flows in your veins like it should be used."

"There are many of these Lanthium that come through here?"

"No," the Elder said, shaking her head. "The others do not often come here. Maybe twice a year. They descend down upon us from the other side of the valley, atop their giant black steeds. They see if there are any displaying the strength of magic needed to become a Wielder like them. They ask then if that person would like to become an apprentice."

"Does whoever is in charge of this Lanthium group, this Naha'lo, does he ever come here?" Link asked her.

"Not always, he has not been here in years. It is usually Zei and Kailut who come. Zei is the third in command among the captains. He is young, like you. Even though he has chosen to use the Chaos Magic, he still has a kind heart and a gentle soul... his working companion and travel partner is Kailut, who is a few years your senior, but just as even-tempered. They have not given themselves over to the magic completely. Perhaps..."

She trailed off and never returned to voice the thought.

She showed us a small room, a pile of furs to the left side and small basin to the right.

Then she bade us goodnight, and left us alone in the ever growing silence.

Alone with our thoughts and our fears and our hopes.

* * *

><p>The bells woke us.<p>

What had been an echo in the mountain air was thunderous now. Great, deep peals, resonating and vibrating. They must have been very large, I realized now, to sound out so loudly and cause such a wide heard echo.

Even though it was pleasantly warm in the tent amidst all of the woolen blankets and thick furs, Link and I had still snuggled up to each other during the night. We were wrapped around each other tightly,

A horse whickered and it made me freeze. This was not the call of one of the Sheikah horses that we had seen the night before. Theirs was the light, playful call of a horse at ease. This was deeper, wilder.

Surely the one time that there are outsiders in this place could not be one of the days that these Lanthium choose to come and visit the village, could it? But of course our luck, and our fate, would throw as much at us as possible all at once.

I nudged Link and he murmured drowsily. Despite the situation and the possibility of danger just outside of this tent, I could not stop the soft smile as it made its way onto my face. His arms tightened around me, preventing any possible escape. I nudged him again.

He opened his mouth, words ready to fall from his lips when the horse whickered again. Link stilled beside me, and then slowly unwound himself from entwinement. We rose silently together and took quick steps to the door.

My hand reached up and swiped the curtain back a bit.

Nothing.

The noise came again. Whatever it was, was just outside. We slowly crept to the main doorway.

We pulled the cloth back. There, nearly fifty feet from us, stood two large pitch black horses. They were nearly double the size of the horses that these people kept in their small village, and not even Epona seemed a good match against their size in my mind. There seemed a startling difference between seeing one on a far away dune top to seeing one up close like that.

Movement just to the right of them caught my eye.

The Lady Elder stood there with her own great-granddaughter Shia, both engaged in conversation with the riders. Even though Shatia had told us that Zei and Kailut were close in age to us, the sudden presence of the Lanthium was startling. How could we possibly face them knowing that I had no knowledge of how to do so?

The first one was slender and tall, a good six inches more than me and as thin as a starving person. His skin seemed a slightly deeper tan than mine because it was such a contrast to the bright white of his hair, like Lady Impa's. It was gathered in a band at the base of his neck, cascading down to reach the middle of his back. He turned slightly, a movement that was all grace, pointing out over at the ridge above us.

The one next to him seemed to share his grace. He was closer to my slenderness, a bit lighter skinned then the extremely thin man beside him, but he was nearly as tall. Dipping to reach just below his ears and honey blonde, flecked with streaks of silver, his hair shone brightly in the morning light. A pale white scar reached up from below his clothing and ran halfway up the right side of the back of his neck, vanishing as he turned his body back in our direction.

They were dressed differently than the rider or the creatures that we had seen in the desert. Thin, loose black clothing instead of cloaks. If they had to fight, the clothing would allow them to move as they please. The perfect outfit to allow movement that an opponent might not see in time to stop.

And then they turned their eyes on us.

The blood in my veins seemed to freeze.

Now what?

Now what?

I took a deep breath without thinking.

Link raised an arm to pull me back.

I ignored him, something in me suddenly calling out, forcing me to answer an unspoken challenge.

I felt something else spark in me, embers and coals covered in ashes that sprang forth into flames.

I stepped forward, veins full of fire.

The taller of the two stepped forward as well.

Now what?

Ashes.

Embers.

Sparks.

Collision.

Magic welled up and tore through my veins, burning out of control as I stepped forward in the bright morning light, closing my eyes against it for a moment.

Burning like fire.

Was I spiraling out of control already, just from them being near?

Burning.

Chaos.

Magic.

Balance.

I snapped my eyes open and locked with my enemies own.

Crimson, like blood.

Sparking and flickering like fire.

Like madness.

A/n: Well, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I would love to hear you thoughts and you opions on it. Thank you all so much for reading. :D

Lots of Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	11. The Descent of Hope

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : I want to apologize for the delay in updates that I've had. There were a few things that I had to sort out (car trouble, money trouble, etc.) It was like life decided to throw everything at me in one go, but I made it. :D So, here is the next chapter for Shatter. I also apologize because it's kinda short. I'll be updating regularly now though so...

A huge Thank You to all of those who have read and all of those who have reviewed this story. You guys make me happier then you realize. When I see the reviews and the hits, I just wanna jump up and shoot "Woooo!" :D

Another huge Thank You to Mermaidella for being the bestest, most awesome beta in the entire world. *huggles*

Happy Reading :)

Chapter 11: The Descent of Hope

The air felt like it was pressing down on me, blocking everything else from me. I could feel nothing except for the person advancing towards me. Wave after wave of sparking magic flooded my veins spreading through me like wildfire.

There was an echoing pressure from the Lanthium that met with mine. My body felt like it was overheating, but I was unable to move, frozen in spot. The magic in me felt both natural and foreign at the same time.

I had no idea that I held this much magic in me. Sheikah hold more magic than the other races, that I knew. I could practice for hours on end with it, but I just didn't realize just how much there was in my body. It was overwhelming that I seemed to have no control over it.

And then, at the same time, two others moved. The blonde Lanthium stepped forward and held his arm out in front of his comrade. A light familiar warmth pressed on my arm. I glanced down at the lightly tanned hand and then up to meet Link's endless blue eyes.

The magic surged once more through me, one last fighting spark, and then began to fade as I locked myself to that vast blue. There was something in him that steadied me, like cold water rushing over me, chasing that blistering heat in my veins with calm coolness.

I turned back to the Lanthium. The blonde broke off from his glare at the other and turned his eyes to me.

"I apologize for my friend's aggressiveness, Sah'hilo," he said, his voice soft and low, a slight lilt to it, as if he came from somewhere far away, but I assumed that it was just that he had come from a village further away in the mountains than this one. "Lady Shatai was just beginning to explain that you had arrived here last night and meant no harm to the village or its people. Kailut reacts before thinking thoroughly sometimes, with a survivor's instinct. I hope that you can find it in you to forgive his trespass."

I nodded slowly and a small smile graced his face.

Kailut. Which meant that this man addressing me was Zei, great-great nephew to Shatai. I did not expect to meet them though. I had just wanted to gather information on the Lanthium, who they were and how to fight them, and be on our way back to Hyrule. Back to the familiar sights and the warm fields.

"I am Zei, one of several captains of the Lanthium. I had wondered, perhaps you and-"

"You shot him."

I glanced at Link for a moment before returning my eyes to Zei. Bewilderment flittered across his face, followed by something similar to shame and guilt. He lowered his eyes to the ground. Link's expression didn't change as he watched Zei, his eyes keeping their hard, flinty look.

"Yes, I shot him. But you must realize, there were others with me at the time. I could not simply walk away. I had no choice but to aim, and aim true. I hoped that the bow would be heard when I drew it and so I drew it slowly."

He lifted his eyes back up to meet mine.

Red on red, crimson and flames.

"And you did hear it. You turned away from the strike. I was glad that you had. The others with me were not happy with me, but they had no hand with good aim and so it was more of a volley that they fired off in hopes of hitting you."

He paused, eyes searching mine.

"You are the one then? You are he who has come to cast off the evil from our bloodline?"

I glanced at Shatai, who was looking at me with those clear, clear eyes again. As if there was another soul that shared her body and now it had come to the surface again. Sometimes I wondered when I looked into eyes that clear, that all seeing, if what was staring back was still mortal or something more. Looking into Shatai's eyes now, I wondered once more whose eyes I was truly staring at.

"Why now?" Link questioned him sharply. "Why should he fight for any of you now, after you've attacked Hyrule and its people?"

My eyes locked with Zei's own, waiting for him to answer.

"We are too weak to stand against the Naha'lo. He is a very powerful wielder and the years of magic have made him unpredictable. He has allowed madness to take him. We have only one hope, the one that the Elders speak of from legend. A Sheikah that comes into the mountain stronghold from our ancestor's lands to learn the secrets of the Chaos Magic. He will be equal to Naha'lo and in their battle it is his will that decides the fate of our world. There are only two Sheikah left in your Hyrule, and only one is male.

"You," he raised his eyes back up to meet mine. They were filled with an almost desperate hope. "You are the one who can alter our fate. You and you alone can tear down the walls of his darkness. The volatile way your magic reacted to the threat of Kailut's was proof enough. I thought correctly when I saw you in the grass fields. You are the one we have waited for."

Link opened his mouth to retort and I laid my hand on his arm. With uncertainty in his eyes, he backed down.

"And how would I learn this Chaos Magic? Who of your people would teach me how to use it correctly? Who of you would have the courage to turn from your leader if you fear him so? And who's to say that I won't lose control of it, that it won't consume my mind like it has with others?"

My thoughts strayed back to Ganondorf, to the extreme change in him in the few months that he had strayed into these mountains and learned this very magic. This magic that could burn us to ashes, like the Goddess that it came from. Had Din really meant this as a blessing for our race, because from all that I had seen and heard, it was more of a curse.

Zei turned back to Kailut and the two of them exchanged a silent flow of communication. Then the white haired Sheikah gave a slight nod. They both turned back to us.

"We will teach you, Sah'hilo. Long have we suffered under the Naha'lo, his dark magic flowing out and onto the rest of us Wielders like a poison. The Chaos Magic is not just for dark purposes, but that is all he uses it for. He uses what advantages he has over us while he tries to twist fate to serve his intentions. He is now testing the boundaries of your realm, to seek out and find the weaknesses. He has not yet formed a plan of attack. There is still yet time for you to learn the deep magic of Din."

I hesitated despite the reassurance. We might still have the time, but did we have the trust? Would Princess Zelda be joyed or angered if we brought these Lanthium back with us? Yet again, I turned to Link. He was still scowling, but when he noticed that I was waiting for a response from him, he gave a half shrug and a nod.

I knew what he meant. It didn't matter if we trusted them or not. This could be our only chance to learn how to save our homeland.

"I accept your offer, and thank you for it."

A smile broke out on Zei's face and I was struck by how happy he looked in that moment. My heart clenched. There were few other children in my tribe. We had been dwindling in numbers for years. This was the first time that I had been near other Sheikah my age in years and years.

He stretched out his hand and grasped mine.

"And I thank you, Sah'hilo, for accepting."

Next to me, Link growled low in his throat. Zei dropped my hand quickly with a slightly startled look in his eyes and took a step back to Kailut. The other man raised a brow, but made no comment.

"Perhaps you and your friend should go and gather your things, Sheik. It is a long journey back to your home."

My eyes locked with Lady Shatai's and she gave me a small smile. Her eyes were her own again, warm and wise once more.

And then I heard a quiet noise in the near silence after her words. It echoed in my mind, pulling a flash of memory to the front of all thought, a memory we had just spoken of. It was barely a creak, meant to be a silent death.

Zei reacted as quickly as I did. He knocked down Kailut with a sweep of his leg and moved quickly to grab Shatai and hide her behind their horses. I grabbed Link and pushed him back towards the cover of the houses.

Two arrows buried themselves deep in the dirt only seconds after we moved. I turned my eyes to the cliffs, scanning for the shooters.

High above us, nearly a hundred or so feet, stood two horses that were identical to the ones that Zei and Shatai were behind. On their backs, covered from head to toe in black, were two riders, empty bows settled across their laps. I heard Zei utter a curse which left no doubt in my mind that these two were part of the Lanthium that they had just turned their backs on.

A strange sensation crept through me. The same pressure of evil that I had felt in the desert was here. There was no doubt in my mind that the rider from the dune top was one of the riders on the ledge.

The hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end as one of the riders lifted his arm and pointed at me. I knew that if he wanted, he could have spoken and made his voice carry down to us with perfect clarity, but no sound was issued forth from him. He also could have flung magic at me, or at any of us, and he would have succeeded in causing harm. He dropped his hand and turned away, the other following him. There wasn't even noise from the horses as they disappeared from the mountain ledge.

My eyes meet with Zei's as the pressure dissipated around us.

"Shad Turrint. He is the Commander directly under the Naha'lo. Lady Shatai, perhaps it is unwise for you and you villagers to stay here any longer."

"Nephew, it is you who should not linger here. We will be fine. After all, how were we to know that you would come here and side with this stranger from a land we have only heard whispers of? How were we to know who he and his companion were?"

A small smile tugged on Zei's face at her words.

Link tugged on my arm, and I turned to him.

"We should get our things, before those riders decide to come down here."

I nodded even though I knew they would not. They were gone from the mountain in only the few minutes since we had seen them, I could feel it. But how they had gone so quickly was a mystery to me.

We slipped into the Elder's house and gathered our packs. I turned towards the door, but Link put out his hand once more.

"Sheik, are you sure they should come with us? We don't really know if we should trust them, especially in Zelda's presence."

"Link, we have no choice. I have to learn this magic somehow if we want to win the fight that is to come."

A heavy sigh issued from his mouth and a frown formed on his lips.

"I know," he whispered.

There were words that he left unspoken. I could feel them in the air, words he wasn't sure of how to say to me, but I knew them regardless. One of these men that we were taking with us into Hyrule had already attacked us once. Who was to say that sometime, he wouldn't regret his decision to side with us and try again?

I tried to put all thoughts aside as we exited Shatai's house.

"I thought that you would prefer to ride together instead of one on one with us."

My eyes snapped up to see Zei standing beside one of the horses. Kailut was already in the saddle, his arm stretched down to help him up. Zei grabbed his hand and swung himself into the saddle, settling behind his friend. We walked up to the other horse with caution.

I raised my hand and brought it a few inches away from the creature's nose. A deep snort and a large puff of hot air was what I got in return. A smile made its way to my face. I knew that these horses were large, but standing next to one made it all the clear on just how large they were.

Nearly the same height, they had a good fifteen or sixteen inches on Epona. Deep black, the sun gleamed and shined off of their short haired coats in the sun. Their hooves were as large as my head, maybe more, with long feathered hair at the fetlocks. The long hair of their manes and tails was slightly wavy. The look in their eyes said they knew what was going on and understood just as well as our own horses in the lowlands did, mayhap more.

Link strapped our packs on just behind the saddle and made sure that they were secure. I swung myself up and into the saddle before he could object. I let a grin cover my face as he stared up at me with a blank expression for a moment, and then he raised his hand to grip the one I lowered to him. He settled in behind me and I could feel his tension. This was much higher up than I was used to as well and it was a bit unsettling at first.

The other two Sheikah gave us a few minutes to get used to it before we left. We waved goodbye to Shatai and several of the villagers as the creature below us started walking after the other horse.

As the village faded into the mountain brush, we picked the pace up to a trot. I was expecting it to be rough and bumpy, but the horse's gait was smooth, hardly jolting us at all. It was somewhat odd to me for an animal so large to move so gracefully, but I was happy that we weren't in any danger of being ejected from the saddle.

As we turned onto a trail, Zei twisted around and explained that we came through one of the old passes. They weren't used often any more, and the paths they would take us on to reach Hyrule were much safer and newer. And they were made with the Lanthium mounts in mind, wide and smoothed stone with plenty of room away from the edge, carved into the mountain sides with the same magic that was now a threat to the lands below.

As we got further out, we kicked up the pace. The canter was an odd, rolling motion that reminded me of the waters of the river that led to Lake Hylia. But galloping, that was another story.

It was beautiful.

The animals beneath us lengthened their strides until they were full out running. A fear rose up in me for a second and then it was replaced with awe. This was clearly the way that the Lanthium from the desert dunes had gotten here so quickly. Even if he had crossed a hundred mountains, at this pace it would have only taken days.

And the horses never showed any signs of tiring or wanting to stop.

And that was fine by me.

I was breathless with joy as I allowed the moment to take over.

This was flight.

And for a few hours, we let go of all the impending horrors and enjoyed what we had.

The sun was bright and the wind was cool as we raced up and down and through the mountain trails, the horses never misstepping once.

Link leaned into me, never loosening his hold. When we turned sharply and suddenly, he would laugh lightly in my ear, causing laughter to bubble from my lips as well. Warmth spread through me and stayed there the entire trip.

If only there wasn't a war looming in the background, this would be as close to perfection as I would ever reach.

I never wanted to let go of this sensation.

And I never wanted him to let go of me.

A/n : I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. I would love to hear your comments, thoughts, and opinions. Thank you so very much for reading. :D

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	12. Sparks of Chaos

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : Again, I apologize for the wait for this chapter. I actually got it back a few day ago, but I didn't have the time to get down here and post it. :( But it's here now :D

A huge Thank You to all of you who have read this story and to all of you who have reviewed. You guys mean the world to me. :D

A giant Thank You as always to my super awesome beta Mermaidella :D *huggles*

Disclaimer : I do not own The Legend of Zelda... It is most sad, is it not? oh well...

Warning : For those of you who have been waiting rather patiently, fluff ahoy. :D

Chapter 12: Sparks of Chaos

Blazing heat ran scorching in my veins as I felt the magic flow through my body. I raised my hand, launching an attack at the man in front of me. Something akin to sparks flew off behind the flash of white magic that I had just released into the air.

Zei dodged and retaliated by throwing his own magic at me, as bright as blue fire. I thrust my arms down and flung them back up, raising a shield of yellow magic that crackled like fire. When they collided it sounded as if lightning had struck in front of me, crackling and sparking before disappearing. I gasped for breath and paused for a moment.

He flashed a smile and raised his foot before stomping down hard, white magic racing along the ground towards me. I flipped forward right before it touched my feet, and on my landing I sent out two white flares at him. At impact, I kept in motion and slammed my right hand out, red bursting forth. He barely got out of the way in time, sending another attack at me.

It went on, back and forth for nearly another twenty minutes, then he motioned at me to stop. I collapsed onto the ground, panting hard. This session had been the longest by far, nearly two hours of drawing magic for attack and defense. The rest of my days were usually filled with movement learning, sparring without magic, and meditation. I stretched out on the cool grass under me and closed my eyes for a few minutes.

I was drained; every ounce of my energy was gone. My clothing was slightly singed from the times I didn't get out of the way fast enough. Bruises littered my arms, my ribs and my legs from hand to hand combat. It had only been three weeks since we had returned from the mountain range, but in those three weeks I learned what should have taken months.

Zelda came by every few days and watched, sitting alongside Kailut, Link, and Nabooru. She was astounded at the progression that I had made, and so was I. Magic, no matter who wielded it, took quite some time to learn usually. But these short weeks I had mastered the Chaos Magic well enough to begin to spar with Zei. It should have been hard to make it work, and in just three weeks, it should have been impossible to spar for this amount of time. But the magic fell from my fingertips as if it had been kept in a cage for the entire length of my life and was finally free.

Zei said it was in my bloodline like all Sheikah and that it was something that would come naturally to me. But it felt like something more than that to me, more than something passed down from one person to the next, more than what could be ingrained and progressively trained as a child or young adult.

It was in my entire body, my soul, my life force. It was a part of me that I never knew I even had. I could feel the fire of the Goddesses burning in me when I wielded it. Truly, it had been given the correct title. It was pure chaos, around and inside of me when I used it. It was overwhelming, the power of it.

And though Zelda was happy that I was learning so quickly, I could see something else below the surface.

She was worried.

With this new magic, I was becoming dangerous.

If it tainted my sanity, as it had done with Ganondorf, I would be even more of a threat and a danger then he had been. I would be a threat to her, to Link, to the entirety of this realm.

But Zei assured me that the madness would not take me. He had been there when Ganondorf was trained. He too was in training at the time. Ganondorf had blown through lesson after lesson, with a progression rate near mine, but the way he wielded his magic had been different.

He had already been tainted with madness before the training began, and he did nothing to push the darkness away when it grew. As a result, when the Chaos Magic blended with the magic he got from the Triforce of power, his already cracked sanity shattered beyond repair.

Sometimes I wondered if he had been born mad, due to the unusual build up of dormant magic in his bloodline. Perhaps he had been doomed to failure when he drew his first breath from this world.

There was worry in Link's eyes too, worry that somehow this could all go wrong, and that I would go mad regardless of the reassurances from Zei and Kailut. And there was something else in them as well. His eyes flashed burning hostility whenever Zei came into close contact with me. At first I had thought that he was just worried because the other Sheikah had shot me, and then as the days wore on I realized that perhaps it was something else entirely.

It was just brushing contact at first, and then the touches lingered longer. He made constant eye contact, as if he were afraid that something else would capture my complete attention. If he was talking to me, he always found a way to place his hand on my arm or shoulder. That endless blue softened when met with my crimson, but when his eyes locked on Zei, they were as cold as the ice that had once covered Zora's Domain.

He didn't want Zei near me.

He didn't want Zei to touch or have any contact with me.

He was jealous perhaps, of how easy and relaxed that the other two Sheikah were around me. With the knowledge that Impa and I were not the only ones of our kind left, now with them training me, I think that he thought that I would neglect our newly re-forged bonds... or perhaps that I would seek new ones of a different nature with one of them.

Which was unnecessary. Surely he knew by now that regardless of the company I was with, that he was the one that I wanted. I had thought that perhaps he had realized this with the actions that we had both previously used towards each other. Though now I was starting to think that perhaps he didn't trust his own judgment of this situation.

Did he think that he was disillusioned? Did he think that he had misread my actions, or that I had misread his own as just friendly? But I knew that after each question that sounded off in my head, that the reasoning was wrong.

He was afraid that after all of this time, that if he made the first move, that he could lose me again. Permanently if I didn't reciprocate his feelings.

But how could he not realize?

How could he not see?

The empty hollow ache that had been in me for all those years echoed his own. And he feared going back into that state. He didn't want to misjudge anything, especially if he thought that it would cause me to walk away from him.

I opened my eyes as Zei's shadow fell on me, blocking out the midday sun.

"That was well done, Sah'hilo. I think that will be all for today."

I nodded and reached for the hand that he held out. From the corner of my eye I saw Link stiffen at our contact. Kailut raised his eyebrows and then grinned at the expression on his face. I turned towards them further in time to see the other Sheikah lean over and whisper in Link's ear.

Link erupted in bright red.

I stared for a moment, curious as to what Kailut had said. I don't recall ever seeing that particular shade of scarlet on the Hero of Time before, ever.

He met my eyes for a moment, then cast his own down to stare at the ground. I raised a brow as he stabbed at the ground with one of the daggers that I had used in throwing practice earlier. Kailut turned his grin towards Zei and I as the blush refused to leave what I was sure was a very mortified Link.

"Zei, are you done now?" Kailut half-whined from where he sat. Zei was all action, careful, precise and fast movement and usually literal and serious. Kailut was something else entirely. I had wondered how he had even made it through the rigorous training that the Lanthium went through.

Every moment that he could he was flat on his hind end, or sprawled out on his side, dozing in the sunlight. He seemed so lazy, and was constantly smarting off to Zei, and to us as he grew used to our daily presence, completely ruining the first impression that I had of him being a quiet and withdrawn person. It seemed so odd that the two of them, with all their differences got along as well as they did.

I had wondered how they worked together as well. I wasn't sure that they had any actual battle experience, but I couldn't picture them working as one unit.

And then I saw them sparring together.

Kailut was perhaps the most graceful fighter that I had ever seen. He flowed like water, moving effortlessly at all the right times, never a step behind and always half a step ahead. I'm not sure if even Nabooru or Lady Impa could best him in a fight. He knew Zei inside and out, how he thought and what he would do next. The fight only went on for a few minutes under our watch before Kailut tripped Zei, sending him face first in the grass.

Just as he had opened his mouth, most likely to say something rude and mocking, Zei rolled and slammed into his legs. Kailut yelped as he tumbled to the ground, where he had sat for a moment before he sprang at his companion. Then they were half-heartedly wrestling and rolling around, laughing and bantering friendly insults back and forth.

They complimented each other beautifully with their personalities, drawing out the best of the other.

"Yes, Kailut, we are done."

"Thank Din! I was starting to wonder if you would ever get tired of having Sheik setting you on fire."

Zei narrowed his eyes as his partner grinned wildly at him.

I tried to keep the corner of my mouth from twitching, but my teacher noted the movement, switching his glare from Kailut to me. I turned my face away from him, to hide the laughter that it held.

Link was staring at me with a slight frown on his face, his eyes so far away and right there at the same time. The Sheikah next to him nudged his shoulder and then waggled his eyebrows. Link's face lit up again, just when the red had faded out from before.

"You are impossible," he stated to Kailut, who kept his grin on his lips in response.

"You have no idea," Zei muttered quietly.

I glanced at him and he caught my eyes. He nodded slightly at Link and then jerked his head back and to the side a fraction. I stared at him, my own face heating a bit. Surely we weren't that obvious about each other, were we? Was that what Kailut had been teasing Link about?

A small smile formed on his lips as Link stood and made his way to us, trying to leave the other behind, which unfortunately for him didn't work. The white haired Sheikah was nearly skipping around him, his grin never slipping.

By the time that they reached us, I could tell Link was slightly annoyed.

Zei started forward and pulled his friend backwards by the arm, stomping and dragging him across the training grounds.

"You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut."

"And you need to learn how to pull that stick out of your- Owww! What was that for?"

"You know what it was for."

"Help, Sheik! Link! Save me!"

I couldn't help the smile that tugged on my lips from showing this time. Link smiled as well, and then as he stared at me, it faded and his face turned thoughtful.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."

And then it was my turn to stare.

"Yes, you may."

He shifted in place. A myriad of emotions flickered over his face, before he settled into a carefully blank look.

"Somewhere else, preferably. If you don't mind, that is."

I blinked, a bit unsure of what exactly he wanted to talk about.

"Your room?"

Surprise flashed through his eyes at my suggestion, and a hint of red reappeared on his face. He nodded, turning and walking towards the castle. I followed him without a word. Was this due to Kailut and whatever he had been teasing the Hylian about, or something different altogether?

We walked the entire way in a slightly uneasy silence. He held the door open for me, shutting it when I passed him and entered our room. A large bed against the far wall was piled messily with blankets. Papers were scattered all over the desk by the window. Maps and diagrams covered the wall above it.

I turned and faced Link, who was still staring at the back side of the door. I didn't push him, still not quite certain as to what this was about. And then he whirled around, eyes locking with mine and he took a step towards me.

"Sheik, I need to tell you something."

His voice had dropped, the deeper tone now soft and uncertain. My pulse jumped as he refused to break eye contact with me.

"I... When you left, the first time... I didn't really understand what had happened. All I knew was that Zelda had lied, and that I was hurt. And you were just... gone... I never really dealt with that, I just pushed it away."

Every small movement that he made caught my attention. The way he licked his lips, nervously shifting his weight from one leg to the other. The way he rubbed his palms against the slightly rough fabric of his tunic. His voice had begun quiet and slightly shaky, but now the soft words were begining to raise, pure determination willing out the words.

"Now, I have. And I have come to the conclusion that I don't ever want you to leave again. I don't want to deal with that hurt, that emptiness again, Sheik. I don't ever want to feel that loss again in my life. But you're here now... And it's taken me a lot, but I dredged up everything and I...I know why it hurt so badly when I saw you again. I was angry because I thought that I would lose you all over again, but now... "

He made his way over to me until he was less than a foot away. It was odd to watch how quickly all of his outward nervousness almost completely disappeared in that instant. He stood steady in front of me, unwavering.

"I've known for a while, but I just wanted to be sure that I..." He paused for a moment, steadily gathering more of the courage that it had taken him to come this far.

"I care about you Sheik. I care about you more than I could ever put into words... I don't want to live this life without you."

And then, he leaned closer, his lips pressing gently against mine. My heart nearly stopped in my chest as shock hit my system. My breath was locked in my lungs and I was frozen to the spot. Then he pulled back, those bright blue eyes filled with uncertainty and the slightest bit of fear. For a moment, neither of us moved, our eyes locked.

And then I came undone.

My heart plunged into overdrive as I dragged air into my lungs. As he was beginning to step back I stepped forward, his hurt beginning to seep into the very air I was breathing. I could feel the adrenaline kick into my veins, followed by a burning so deep that I was sure that I would catch fire. My arms twined around his neck and gently I dragged him back to me.

His eyes were wide with disbelief as I returned the favor of pressing my lips to his in a chaste gesture. I pulled back after a moment, and he stared at me, his face blank with shock. And then a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, echoing on my own.

Strong arms locked around my waist, as the happiness hit his eyes. I nearly yelped when he gripped me tighter, lifting me slightly and twirled us around. I couldn't help the laughter that spilled from my lips, mixing with his slightly deeper tone.

He stumbled against the bed, my weight pulling us down on top of the messy blankets. Fingers glided gently over bare skin and clothing alike, both mine and his. His voice, low and murmuring, filled my ears with gentle words. I stared into his clear blue eyes before I pressed another kiss to his lips.

That blue that had haunted me for so long.

This warmth I wanted.

This touch I had craved.

Finally, this hurt that was washing away.

A contented sigh escaped from my mouth as we settled comfortably into each other's arms. I felt no inclination to move from the spot that I was in, and judging from how tightly his arms were locked around me, Link had no want to move either.

I knew that we would most likely miss dinner, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Zelda would probably worry and wonder where we had disappeared to. Nabooru would share a look with Kailut and the two would laugh maniacally. Zei and Impa would sigh at them and shake their heads. Perhaps Nabooru would even be kind and wait until morning to come poking around to see what had happened...

I smiled and snuggled deeper into his embrace, tightening my own arms around him.

I don't remember the point when I closed my eyes, but I must have because Link was still dozing next to me, unwilling to relinquish his hold on me even in his sleep. I didn't move my position, entirely too happy with the warmth that surrounded me.

And as the moon's light flooded the room, I looked him over one more time. There was a more relaxed look on his face than I could ever remember seeing before. All of the tension and the worry was lifted from him for these few hours. Link finally seemed contented with the world.

I closed my eyes, a smile forming on my lips as I began to drift off. But somewhere in the back of my mind, questions and new worries began to form.

How much time did we have left?

How much longer did we have to be together?

The battles that we had fought last time had been bad enough, but Ganondorf only ever held a fraction of the power that this new evil had. In this new fight, any of us could become injured. Any of us could die...

But for all the time that I had spent without him, for everything we were now, I wouldn't change for anything in the world.

And I would face down anything in this world to keep it this way.

So I pushed the thoughts away, and focused instead on the man who held me close to him while he slept.

And for once, the dreams and nightmares of horrors and terrors of past and future did not descend into my sleeping realm.

Link chased them all away with his warmth and his presence.

With his care and his love.

A/n : Yay for fluff :D Well, I hope that you all liked the chapter. I would love to hear you opinions, thoughts, and comments. Thank you so much for reading :D I wanted to put a few more things, but I'm running out of time. This place is only open until 12 am and it's almost that time... so...

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	13. The Least Expected

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : I am so sorry for the delay in updating. I told several of you that I woul dhave this up last week, and I may very well have, if I hadn't gotten sick. I mean, mope around the house and whine at people sick. I went nowhere the enitre week. It was terrible. But I'm nearly all better, so I dragged my sorry bum down here and posted this for you all.

Thank you to everyone that read and to those of you that reviewed the last chapter. You guys rock my socks. Or you would, if I were wearing any lol :D

A huge Thank You to my ever wonderful beta Mermaidella, who is the bestest beta in the enitre world *huggles*

Chapter 13 : The Least Expected

I woke to the rising sun, the bright light shining in through the window that had been left open from the night before. I blinked lazily for a moment, basking in the warmth that was wrapped around me tightly. A smile found its way to my mouth as the slightest snoring made its way to my ears and my eyes slid to the form next to me.

Link.

And in the morning light, he was beautiful. The sun lit his light skin with a golden cast. His hair shone brightly, as if stained by the sunlight itself. If there was ever any doubt in my mind, this view of him erased it. He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. My memories flitted back to the few times that I had seen the morning sun on him, but not once during those times had he been mine.

I reached out, my hand trembling slightly, and gently lowered my fingers to the soft skin on his face. On his neck. His arm. I traced indiscernible patterns lightly on his skin. I was still in perfect amazement that he wanted me of all people, that he had wanted me all along.

Yes, I had wanted him, loved him, for years, but to have him want me to this extent in return, I could barely remember to breathe when I thought of it. It amazed me beyond anything in this world.

Then the sunlight shifted slightly.

And something about him in that moment seemed almost fragile, as if there was a spell thick on the air and on him. As if one move, one noise would break something...

I knew that he was no such thing. The man in the bed next to me had struggled and fought through so much. He was not fragile. But I couldn't help but to think, if ever one of us was lost in the upcoming fighting, the other would shatter beyond repair.

Tight, painful fear gripped at my stomach and the elder's words echoed again through my head.

If I am Balance, will it be enough just to correct was has been wronged, or in the end will the need for balance prove so strong that my life would be forfeit? I would fight, I would fight with every last ounce of strength in me.

I withdrew my hand from Link and a shudder ran through my body. No, I would survive this. I had to.

And then there was a hard smack of bare feet hitting the floor, running. I barely began to sit up when the door burst open and I stared up at the intruder, wide eyed.

"Link! Have you seen Sheik? He's been missing since..."

Nabooru trailed off in slight confusion as she stared at me, in Link's bed, with him next to me. She blinked a few times, trying to take in my sudden appearance. And then a sly smile crept onto her face and she raised her eyebrows. She moved forward a step and leaned heavily on the doorframe.

"Have a nice night then?"

Her voice was now thick with amusement instead of worry. I felt a slight annoyance at her words. Reaching over, I grabbed one of Link's leather fingerless gloves that he had discarded sometime in his sleep and chucked it in her direction. My aim was deliberately wide and slow. She ducked and it hit the doorframe behind her as she began laughing.

"Get. Out."

I didn't hear the next set of footsteps over Nabooru's loud explosion of laughter at my words. Impa appeared in the empty space behind her. She too, raised her brows, but unlike Nabooru, Impa made no comment. The corner of her lips twitched, but she concealed her smile well. Then she gave me the slightest shadow of a wink and reached forward, grabbing hold of the Gerudo by the ear.

Nabooru yelped slightly as she was drug backwards by my Sheikah mentor. Impa shut the door as they exited the room. I could hear my friend whining as the older woman hauled her down the hall, mostly likely still by the ear.

I turned my eyes back to Link and froze as my eyes met a steady, endless blue.

Lin had a brow raised, as if asking me a silent question. But I could tell that he was trying hard not to laugh. There was a bright light in his eyes that I couldn't recall seeing before. Then again, with the way that his life as the Hero of Time had been, Link hadn't had very much cause to be happy.

But he was now.

And to think that I was the cause of that filled me with more emotions than I could ever think to name.

I was exhausted. Meditation and warm up stretches with Kailut in the morning. Two and a half hours of all out magic sparring with Zei. Kailut had been mouthing off all morning before disappearing for a few hours. During our slight break, he returned and mercilessly teased Link and I. It was clear that he and Nabooru had exchanged words during lunch.

More stretches and meditation. Knife and senbon practice. Hand to hand sparring with Nabooru in the late afternoon. My hands ached from the hour that Link had taken to help me learn how to use a bow. It's a good thing that I've never had to rely on my skill with that particular weapon to survive before. Though if I had, maybe my aim would be better than it was today.

By the end of the day I was beginning to think that it would be amazing if I survived the training that these people were putting me through.

I had no motivation to move from where I was stretched out on the grass. Then again that could be due to the fact that I was lying next to Link. Surely there was a content look on my face and I closed my eyes against the sun. We lay there in the quiet as the day was beginning to draw to an end.

A shadow fell over me. Perhaps Link thought I had fallen asleep. And then soft lips descended to mine. I smiled into the kiss, returning it as happiness flooded me.

"Link! Sheik!"

I sighed as we pulled away from each other. Would no one leave us alone today? And then I realized the person that had yelled our names was one of the Princess's personal messengers.

"The Princess wants you to meet her at Kakariko Village immediately. She and several others have gone ahead."

Link and I exchanged a look.

"Did she give a reason?" He asked, his calm voice not betraying the emotions that I knew were running rampant through him, just as they were in me.

"Something about the people from the mountains..." The messenger trailed off, looking uncertain.

We thanked him and began to jog lightly to the edge of the training grounds.

Zei and Kailut appeared just beyond the gate. Zei was atop his horse, Kailut was holding the reigns of his. He held them out to Link and sprung up behind his partner. I didn't pause in mounting the black horse waiting for us. Link settled in behind me a moment later.

And then we were flying again. But this was not the free paced happy ride that we had had on our journey to Hyrule. This one was filled with dread and uncertainty. It was unearthly how swiftly and silently these horses could move.

In less than two minutes we were charging through the empty square of Castle Town. The people who usually frequented the square had most likely fled for their homes when Zelda and her guard came through.

In the fields, we caught up to them with ease. The Princess motioned for us to go ahead of her, knowing that her horses were slower and that we could try to hold whatever peace need be held until she arrived.

We jumped off of the horses, and hit the ground running. They tossed their heads and sidestepped as we darted around them. Stairs were taken two steps at a time. There were no people on the main ground level in Kakariko. I could recall the very few times that it had been so. Most of them had been during Ganondorf's reign...

A sharp turn brought us to the next set of steps. Zei and Kailut were right behind us, nearly as anxious as we were. Another sharp turn, this time to the right and we were bounding up the last stairway.

There were the villagers, all gathered together, whispering quietly amongst themselves as they stared at the crowd beyond their gate.

In the front was Shia, but there was no sight of her great-grandmother. It worried me that Shatai was not at the front of the group. But I didn't scan the crowd for her, because the people next to Shia captured my attention. Zei and Kailut were motionless behind me. Link had frozen at my side.

Lanthium members.

Nine in all stood there before us.

In the minutes that we stood motionless, Zelda and the others poured in. Immediately she strode up to the gatekeepers.

Still I found myself unable to move. Zei had mentioned on a few occasions, Kailut too, that the other Lanthium members would be watched carefully now, because two of their members had defected. They had spoken little of the few others that would have been willing to fight with us because of the fact that they would be unable to make an escape and come down into Hyrule.

Yet here they were. Silent red eyes upon us, faces emotionless, as were those of the villagers behind them. And something about them startled me enough that I broke my gaze from the Wielders and searched the rest of the crowd. One hundred, maybe less.

Where were the others? Had they not been able to get away?

At the back of the groups were the giant black horses, as well as a few of the smaller horses that the villagers used, but there was something odd about it. There were twice the number of Lanthium horses as there were riders.

More had happened than a simple fleeing of people in the high mountains beyond Hyrule. One Lanthium per horse, much the same as the Gerudo's had been in the desert. I looked again at the Sheikah next to Shia. There was a weariness about them, dirt and magic burns and cuts over them all.

The sight sent a whisper throughout my mind.

Rebellion.

That was what had happened in the mountains.

The Lanthium had rebelled against their leader. And these nine before us were the survivors. The extra horses were from the fallen of their group. Fifteen to twenty out of forty-two. They still had twenty or more to our eleven, but at least that brought down the odds a bit more than two against forty-two. Shia's voice rose out above the whispers as she spoke to the Princess.

My body moved without me even thinking of it, and my feet carried me to Zelda's side.

"Abrii'ol... Abrii'ol didn't make it. They came too swiftly, and in the night. A number of the others were killed before Loctam and the others came. They were only minutes behind, but by then..."

Abrii'ol... I had noticed before when we were in the mountains that some of the words they spoke in the Sheikah language sounded slightly different. But not so different as that I couldn't understand what they meant. Abrii'ol. Abri'tol. Grandmother.

Shatai had not made it out of the village.

The younger Sheikah didn't have to say any more. The number of villagers that were there was less than half of those that Link and I had seen in the mountain valley. To have obliterated them in such a short time left me with an ill feeling, both for the innocent lives that were lost and for the use of the power that I had not yet mastered.

But I had gained nine new teachers from this.

And the exhaustion that I had felt before would be nothing to that which would come in the next days, and weeks if we had them. I was determined to learn all that I could before we faced the Lanthium in battle.

"Guardsmen, move these people back. Hillad, open the gate."

Zelda's voice cut off the whispers to silence. The people began to move back before the guards even reached them.

"Villagers of Kakariko, listen to me," She cried out. The crowd kept their eyes locked on her.

"Go home and pack the things that you need. This village is no longer safe. Our enemies could descend from the mountains and lay waste to all life here, as they did to one of their own villages. You will be relocated to Castle Town. Please, do this as calmly as possible."

The silence that followed was thick enough to but with a blade. Slowly, as if in a daze, the citizens of Kakariko dispersed quietly. Zelda turned to the remaining crowd, the Sheikah survivors.

"You will all be given refuge in Castle Town as well. If will you follow Guardsmen Lindel," she raised her arm, indicating the man next to her, "he will take you there now. Your injured will be treated by the healers when you arrive."

Lindel stepped forward and waved at the crowd.

"This way please."

Shia followed without hesitation, the Lanthium stepping to the side and allowing the villagers to go before them. It took a few minutes, but the last of the Sheikah slowly cleared the gate, the remaining Lanthium members trailing behind them. Hillad moved forward to secure it once more. Link watched as he locked the gate in place, before turning to Zelda and Impa.

"Do you think that they'll come soon then?"

Blonde hair swayed as Zelda shook her head. Her pale blue eyes were locked on the mountains above us in the distance.

"No, I think this was unplanned. I imagine that their leader didn't know that more of those in his control were unhappy enough to fight with the others. And if they hadn't..."

She trailed off, her voice growing sad and quiet. Another thing that didn't have to be spoken aloud. If the others hadn't fought, there would be no Sheikah making their way down to the town right now. And we wouldn't have nine more experienced Wielders on our side.

I turned from the mountains.

Somewhere up there, the remainder of the Lanthium were preparing themselves for a fight. Had there been more that had fought against their fellows and been taken prisoner? Were they locked away up there somewhere in the high peaks?

The sun dipped down, touching those very peaks, spreading it's ever-changing light across the sky. Orange and yellow were predominant now, but soon the sky would be a riot of color.

Link's warm hand slipped into my own. I turned and looked into his eyes. They were focused on me like I was the only person in the entire world. He squeezed my hand, his own reminder to me that he was thinking of the same thing and that I was not alone.

A smile came unbidden to my lips and I sidestepped until our shoulders brushed.

No, I was not alone.

My grip on his hand tightened and I glanced back at the mountains. The sky above us had bloomed into sunset colors, bright and beautiful.

Together, we would face whatever was to come.

A/n : I also apologize for the shortness of the chapter. But I hope that you all still liked it. I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and opinions. Thank you ever so much for reading.

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	14. Vision of Fire

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : I am so sorry that it took so long for me to update this story. It's been hectic lately. But the good news is that by the time I got around to sending this chapter to my beta, I had the next chapter done as well :D So you guys get a double post, that way you have more story to enjoy, or at least I hope that you enjoy it.

A big Thank You to all of those who read and all of those who reviewed the last chapter. You guys make me seriously happy :D

A huge Thank You to the most wonderful beta ever, Mermaidella, for continuing to do an amazing job fixing all of my horrid grammer *huggles*

Happy Reading :D

Chapter 14: Visions of Fire

Through the thick smoke, I could see shadows moving towards us. Shapes towering over my head, and somewhere in the distance, a trumpet sounded. The grass and dirt below my feet was slick with blood, and the scent of it was heavy in the air. Sound was just as distorted as the shapes moving around me. I turned, as if underwater, and caught sight of the Royal Standard yards away from where I stood.

Hooves caught on the rocks, echoing and amplifying their sound in my ears. The dark creature loomed in front of me, as a voice called out to me. Low and deep, I couldn't make out the words, but the laughter that followed it was clear as daylight to me.

Magic crackled like lightning above me, as dark as the figure that stepped into my vision. The smoke began to shift and clear as the black magic began its decent towards me. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to move, to run, to hide from this terrible force.

I shook as I held my ground.

And as the magic hit me, white light replaced it.

The smoke thickened again, but the sounds of battle and terror faded away. The profound sense of dread washed away as well. This place was as disembodied as the other, but it felt lighter somehow, and more ominous at the same time.

Still I did not move.

"You are braver than many men, to have stood your ground in the face of such evil."

I jerked left towards where the voice sounded out. Something stood there, just close enough for me to see its form. Red flickered here and there, giving the impression that whatever it was was on fire. Then it faded from sight as the smoke rolled in.

"Do you know who I am, little Sheikah?"

To the right of me, it stood again. I narrowed my eyes, as I watched it move forward slightly. Its voice was female, deep and rough as earth and stone. No, not it. Her. I dropped to my knee.

"Din, Goddess of Fire. Giver of Chaos. Mother of the Red Earth."

I spoke softly and when I had named her, she laughed, but stayed where she was.

"Very good, little one. I am she. And you are our Balance. But little one, you have much to learn before any battle takes place. Can you stand the heat, child of the desert sands? Can you hold tight to the fire which may burn you to ash in the end of all things?"

My puzzlement must have shown through on my face because she laughed again. It was a light as the air on the mountain tops.

"I would help your people once more, because it is in the nature of people to cause harm and misuse any gift from a greater good than themselves. My sisters are upset that the gift that I graced the Sheikah with has gone so astray. But they have allowed me to give one the chance to correct the mistakes of all others."

The white smoke bank shifted and cleared enough for me to see that her legs were merged with the earth form the calf down. I looked back up and met those dark ember-lit eyes with my own fire bright ones. There was such clarity in them, and in that moment I thought of the Sheikah elders that I had seen with that brightness in their eyes. Surely, this goddess had been looking at me through them in those moments.

"You have been chosen as Balance, little one. And you are so close to the end of all of this. But you need more fire in you if you are to truly rise as a balance among this. If you waver, this gift will burn you from the inside out."

"I will not waver in anything that I do, Great One."

This time her laughter sounded out as deep as bells.

"No, I don't think you will, but your enemy will do whatever it takes to cause you to do such. Open your hands, little one, and I will give you this thing. It is an ember from the power, my power, that created the Chaos Magic that I gave to the Sheikah long ago."

I raised my arms and cupped my hands together, holding them open towards her. She glided forward, as if she were made of air. I caught a hint of a smile on her face before I lowered my eyes. Her skin was a deep golden tone, like the rock of the desert cliffs. I could see the bright light as she stretched out an arm, and the weight of what she held dropped into my hands.

For a moment, it felt like the mountains themselves descended on me, pinning and crushing me under their weight. And then a pain hit my palms and I nearly cried out.

And it burned like liquid fire.

I closed my hands around it without thinking, desperate to hold onto it even though the pain was far worse than anything I had ever felt. Deep red consumed me, and flames exploded from my skin. I nearly missed the triumphant smile on her face as she raised her arms.

And then I was back on the battlefield with the black magic coming down on top of me, my hands still on fire.

I twisted to the side, and deflected it with raised arms, shooting out bright red sparks with the motion.

A scream sounded out somewhere near me. One that had me hesitated.

"Do not waver, little one. You will burn here. He will try to distract you, to turn your attention elsewhere. To catch you off guard. Do the lives of one or many matter if the world burns to ash?"

Din's voice floated down to me from the sky.

I turned and saw the body on the ground next to me.

A scream tore from my lips before I could stop it.

Someone was shaking me awake, but even with my eyes open the horrors that I dreamt were still floating in my vision. Fire and bright sparking magic. Battle raging on around me, cries and screams ripping through the air. Faces of the dead on the ground around me, all of them those I loved and cared for. Those I knew from the common ground around the castle. Those who worked in the kitchen or the stable. Those I had shared jokes with, laughed with...

Link. Nabooru. Impa. Zelda. Zei. Kailut. Shia. Birn. Matha. . Rhis.

The list of names and the faces of the dead went on. And on and on, a grotesque never-ending horror.

Then, just barely audible over the echoes of my screaming, a voice whispered to me, murmuring that everything was alright, that everything was okay. That I needed to calm down. And I listened, taking deep breaths of cool night air. I was almost out of the vision, when wisps of white smoke filtered into my vision, and her voice rang out.

"This will not come to pass, if you do not waver. Be strong, little one."

The other voice whispered again and I knew that voice. I knew it was well as I knew my own.

Link.

"You must not waver, little one, or all will be lost. He will do what he can to cause you personal harm. But little one, remember..."

Her words faded out for a moment when I closed my eyes. When I reopened them, the dream was gone and he was there next to me. Then as if from far away, her last words rang out, like partially muted bells, deep and soft.

"Do not waver."

My eyes snapped up to his and I jerked upright. Link leaned back, eyes wide and not quite sure if I was completely awake yet.

"Sheik, are you alright? You were screaming and then your hands..."

He trailed off, his voice tinged with worry as his eyes flickered down to my hands. My own eyes followed. They looked fine, but I knew that Din had not let me go unmarked from her presence. I turned them over and stared at the images that appeared scorched into my palms. They seemed to burn brighter in the moonlight that shone in the open window.

"Your hands were smoking, Sheik. And they were hot, like... like you held them in the fire or something..."

It was just like the one I had seen on Zelda's hand, and on Link's and Ganondorf''s. But theirs had been on the backs of their hands, glowing with bright light and upright. This piece that the Triforce outlined, upside down and connecting the other three, was blackened upon my hands. Here and there, small dark marks ran outwards from them, slightly misshapen in the resemblance of a flame.

My breath caught in my throat.

Balance.

Link stared down at the symbols, fascinated at the marks that were now permanently etched into my skin.

"A gift," I whispered to him, the memory of her presence sending that calming sensation over me once more, despite the aching in my hands.

He jumped a bit at my voice and then continued to stare at my hands, before moving his eyes back up to mine.

"From who?"

I smiled and drew closer to him.

"From Din."

My eyes fluttered, drifting shut. I could hear him call out to me, worry thick in his voice now. But there wasn't anything I could do to prevent my eyes from closing. The only thing I could do was smile softly as warmth surrounded me, reminding me of the rising sun in the cold desert darkness.

When I awoke next, my room was bright with the afternoon sun. I blinked a few times, allowing my eyes to adjust to the light. The sound of soft voices drew my attention to the figures sitting on the window ledge. Link and Nabooru sat on opposite sides, in nearly the same position, leaning back against the side of the window with one leg propped up, the other hanging down. But whereas Link was resting an arm against his leg, Nabooru was waving her hands around animatedly, like she always did when she was telling a story.

"-and then he went flying up into the air like a ragdoll! I've never seen a horse throw anyone so far, or so hard before. I mean, I know that he's thin, but still! When he landed, the sand went _poof!_"She waved her arm in an upward motion as she spoke, "And went up in a cloud all round him, and," she struggled for breath through her laughter. "The expression on his face was so puzzled, like he couldn't figure out what had happened! It was priceless!"

She completely dissolved into laughter and Link grinned at her.

I winced slightly. I knew what she was telling him about. I had been a bit overconfident in the first few weeks that I had Ember. That overconfidence had gotten me a bruised tailbone, a few bruised ribs and a lot of bruised pride. I thought much differently of any horse now.

"He doesn't need to know that, Nabooru."

My lips twitched as I tried to hide my smile as they jumped. Nabooru leapt from her seat and raced to me, with Link right behind her. In their attempt to reach me quickly, my friend failed to notice Link was directly on her heels when she slowed a fraction. The result was the two of them tumbling to the floor together with loud cries.

I dearly loved them both, but they could be such klutzy people sometimes...

I rolled slightly until I could peer over the end of the bed. I raised a brow as I looked them over. Link looked slightly dazed, because even though she had been in front of him, Nabooru was on her back sprawled across his chest, which probably accounted for the fact that he looked like he couldn't breathe either. Nabooru was as thin as any Gerudo, and like any Gerudo, she was much heavier than she looked.

She grinned up at me; her golden eyes alight with humor.

"I think I may have broken something."

A snort escaped my lips, as well as from a previously unnoticed pair from the doorway. I glanced over to see Kailut and Zei struggling to hide their laughter. I flashed a small grin at them before turning my attention back to Nabooru.

"Indeed, you may have... Perhaps you should get up now, just in case."

Her grin widened as she hauled herself up and off of Link. He laid there for a moment, before a groan left his now most likely bruised ribs. He rolled to the side and settled on his hands and knees for a few seconds. Then he reached out and steadied himself against the bed before rising to his feet.

He glanced warily at the female Gerudo, who stood there looking back innocently at him.

"How is someone so thin, so heavy?"

Nabooru's golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"I don't know, but when you find out, please let me know. I have been trying to figure that out for years."

She shifted her glare from Link to me, and I smiled back at her. Her glare vanished immediately, replaced by a soft smile of her own. We hadn't had much time together during the last few weeks except for at meals and every now and then for short times after dinner before we went to bed. We had both been extremely busy, so to have that smile directed at me washed away all the guilt that I had for not spending as much time with her as I had previously.

"Anyway, we were waiting for you to wake up. Link said something about your hands smoking or something..."

She trailed off slowly as I held up my hands, palms exposed for all to see.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zei and Kailut raise their left hands up to and against their chests, all but their index and middle fingers curled against their own palms.

"What in Din's name is that?" Nabooru asked, her voice low.

I couldn't hold back my laughter, and her eyes widened when it spilled forth.

"It's from Din, Nabooru."

Her mouth opened for a moment and then closed, sending the image of a fish into my mind. Link sat down on the bed and reached out for one of my hands. Gentle fingers glided over the seemingly scorched skin. I could vividly recall the pain from when it had happened, but now there was only a very faint ache.

I watched as he outlined the pattern around the edge, his touch sending chills up my spine.

"What does it do I wonder? I mean, is your magic stronger now, or did she just want you to be marked up all pretty? Goddesses' aren't that vain are they?"

For a moment, anger surged through my system. I was alarmed at the intensity of it, because even though it was surging through my body, it was not my emotion. I struggled to contain it for a moment, knowing that if it came out, I would seem slightly unstable. A sigh brushed through my mind and the anger cooled. There was a light breath against my skin as Din whispered in my ear.

Why do people always assume that we are vain for wanting to show the world our chosen? If we did not mark you out, would others help you so? Some are only prompted help when they cannot otherwise ignore.

I went stock still, desperately hoping that I didn't look as panicked as I felt. I felt the echoes of her low laughter.

It bothers you that a Goddess speaks in your mind. Just one thing and then I will retreat. You need to learn quickly how to contain and control what I have given you, before it burns you to ash, little one. It can, and it will. Remember that.

I shuddered a bit as I felt her presence withdraw, causing Link to give me an odd glance.

"She said... she said it was a piece, an ember of the magic that the Chaos Magic was created from. I didn't notice that it had left any marks until Link pointed it out. But it burned like fire when she dropped it into my hands..."

"A part of the Goddess' own magic," a cool voice rang out from the hall.

Impa stood behind my teachers, arms crossed. I nodded in agreement.

"I was sent to get you, all of you. Zelda wanted to speak with you."

Every other person in the room gave a small sigh. Zelda had been cornering everyone, myself and Link included to go over every single battle plan that the council and her generals had come up with. It would have been fine, except she insisted on doing it every time there was an update, no matter how small. Which meant that we were cornered at least once a day, Nabooru more than the rest of us since she was trapped inside more than we were.

"There will be food."

That won over my friends quite quickly. Nabooru made a dash for the door, smacking Kailut in the arm on her way out. Link opened his mouth to ask me something, when my stomach growled loudly.

We both laughed and he reached out his hand to help me up. I accepted, the skin on skin contact making my blood spark, warming me all over.

"There have been a few sightings from the Gorons but everything has been quiet. Just a few riders every now and then that settle on top of the cliffs for several hours, then leave."

Zelda nodded, indicating to Impa that although she was looking at the bread in her hands, she was indeed listening. We had finished eating nearly half an hour ago, but as usual we were being updated on everything that had happened. Commander Deltin had come in, along with his second in change, Heth.

"I wonder what the Lanthium leader, this Naha'lo, has done with our Sages? Are you sure you don't know what became of them?"

Zei shook his head.

"No, we were in the lower ranks. Scouts and messengers. All we know is that they're being held somewhere, or at least they were last we heard."

"Princess, you have asked them many times about Darunia and Saria. Asking again is not going to change things."

"I know, Impa. I just wish that I knew what was happening to them..."

A sigh escaped from Zelda's lips. She hadn't been sleeping well these past few nights. I could tell by the way she leaned back in her chair. There were very faint smudges under her eyes still, despite the fact that she had covered them with makeup, and a weariness about her as her light blue eyes locked on mine. She managed a half smile as she looked at me.

My heart clenched. I had only seen her so worn down in the final year before the battle with Ganondorf.

"So, last night Sheik was visited by Din, who charred pretty pictures into his palms," Nabooru stated calmly into the silence. Zelda raised a brow, looking the Gerudo Sage over to see if she was being serious, or trying to have one over on her. Nabooru must have passed as serious, because Zelda turned to me.

"So, let me see these hands of yours."

I held them up for Zelda to inspect, palms tilted up into the light. Her eyes narrowed as she reached forward and traced the circled pattern. She glanced over at Impa, who nodded, and then back to me. Her hands dropped from mine and settled in her lap as she stared at the table top for a moment.

"Sheik," she flicked her eyes up to meet mine for a moment, and then dropped them back to the shining wood.

"A long time ago, the Sheikah people wore a different symbol. After they were betrayed, it changed to the weeping eye of Truth, to depict the bloodshed that they had gone through. But before the battles, before the fighting, it was different. It was still the Eye of Truth, but it had flames like that around it. It was written that the symbol represented their acknowledgement of the Goddess Din for something that she had given them.'

"For a long time we didn't know what it was that was given. It hadn't been written down by the scribes of that time, and we didn't think anything of it. But I remember the picture of the symbol that was inked on the page. The circled flames are the same."

Light ice blue eyes met mine, locking and holding.

"She gave them a part of her power. We know that now. The Sheikah have continued to show that through the generations, even if we here were unaware. And even though they were carried down to you through blood, it seems she has given you the gift herself as well."

There was a slightly awkward silence in which everyone stared at me. The Commander looked skeptical, but Nabooru was grinning.

"See, all those years of praying and you living in the Temple did work."

I couldn't help but smile back at her. Impa narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, but I could see the hint of a smile trying not to be seen on the corners of her lips. To cover it up, she reached over and smacked my friend in the arm.

"Ouch! Hey..."

Everyone laughed a bit, even Nabooru.

"I guess that after lunch you should go outside and see of there have been any changes in your magic then."

I nodded, knowing that the Princess was right. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Zei and Kailut were whispering back and forth, glancing at me every now and then. I pushed it away for the moment, focusing on the warmth that Link put off as he caught my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine.

Zelda smiled at me once her eyes caught the motion, and I smiled back.

I glanced at the tree once more before partially closing my eyes. I could still see the base of the tree and I breathed deeply. Clearing my mind, I focused on the stillness of everything, the quiet. And then over it all, I focused on the rhythm of my heart. Something sparked in the back of my mind as I stepped forward and raised my arms.

"Are you sure I should aim at the tree?"

"Better the tree than us if your magic is any different," Kailut shot back quickly.

I grinned at him, then cleared my mind again.

I swung my right foot a few inches behind my left, smoothly and swiftly slamming my arms down and outward to waist level. The reaction was instant and magic shot from my fingers with the motion. I could feel the difference, the magic running through me was hotter and stronger than it had been. I watched, breath withheld as bright, hot red flared out and raced to the tree that I had focused on.

For a moment, it seemed as if nothing out of my normal range had happened. Then with an earsplitting crack, the tree twisted and shattered about four foot up from the base. Then it was if an aftershock hit it and the base exploded. The ground trembled, and dented inward, leaving a six inch deep circle around the tree about two feet out.

I stared at it with shock as the remainder slammed to the ground. Behind me, no one made a noise and for a few minutes we all just stared at what was left of the tree.

Raising my hands, I stared at the markings once more as a voice from behind me rang out.

"And when he rose to face the mountains, he threw magic from his hands that shook the foundations. And the rocks and the earth remembered the power of their maker as the Sheikah stepped forward to strike down his enemy. And in the Chaos and battle around them, Her gifted began to fight, each gathering and releasing the power that She had given them."

Link kept his eyes on my hands, but Nabooru and I turned to Zei. He and Kailut were both staring at me with wide eyes.

"What?"

"That's part of the story of the Sah'hilo legend. The one that I mentioned before, when we first met. I thought that maybe the strong magic in your veins already was her gift, but now... She has given you a power to rival the Naha'lo's years of experience."

Zei glanced over at his white haired companion.

"We just have to train you to control it or..."

"Or what?"

They shared a quick glance.

"It is possible, that such a strong magic from the goddess Din could light you on fire, literally, and burn you from the inside out... The magic that you already possess could act as a spark to this volatile new magic. If you use too much power, too soon, it would catch fire so to speak. Like a flame on black powder..."

Zei moved back a step.

"We have to go get someone. Stay here."

I watched wide eyed as they both broke into an easy run towards the castle. Within a minute they were inside. I turned back to Link and Nabooru. They shrugged and returned to staring at the tree.

I stared down at my hands.

This would make a big difference, but only if I learned how to properly control it.

I glanced back at the gate and then up to the sky. The sun was just coming out of the midday position. Every day that passed was spent with the one question of when. When would they come? When would war break out? When would people start dying?

This final gift from Din could not have been better planned, and I was thankful that she hadn't given it at a later moment. Thankful that she had given it at all.

Controlling this gift now could mean the difference between life and death.

And we were running out of time.

A/n : I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I would love to hear you thoughts, comments, and opinions. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it.

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	15. Warmth

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : Thank you to all of those who have read and those who have reviewed the last chapter.

And as always, a huge Thank You to the ever wonderful Mermaidella.

Happy Reading :D

Chapter 15 - Warmth

I dropped heavily to my knees, exhaustion rippling through my system. I panted hard, trying to catch my breath. The man opposite of me did the same. He waved a hand at me.

"Very good... we'll take a... break and then... do some more..."

He smiled kindly at me and I returned the favor.

When I had first seen Locktam, he had been covered in ash and dirt and blood from the fighting in the mountains. The second time, he was no less intimidating, but he was much kinder then his stern expression had shown.

He had about four inches height on me, and at least twenty pounds. Pale golden hair fell just past his ears. Several light scars shown across his tanned skin on his forearms. His eyes were hard, flat chips of red ice and it seemed as if a smile had never found its way to his face.

He had come back with Zei and Kailut, trailing behind with two other of the Lanthium rebels. When their small party reached ours, he glanced up and locked his eyes onto me, and stared for several long minutes without blinking. The other Wielders shifted away from him and circled around to where Link and Nabooru were standing off to the side.

The without a word he moved swiftly, flinging magic at me. I heard Link shout in surprise and Nabooru yelped a bit, but as soon as the other Sheikah's magic crackled in the air, I jerked up my arms, bright blue rising up and meeting with the red, causing purple sparks to shoot off as they collided.

Soon I was in full fighting mode, blocking out the others as we fought. Each attack was slightly stronger than the last and soon we bypassed the levels that I had previously been sparring on. There were no breaks, no pauses. Just pure magic, wielded for the purpose of battle. Time didn't register to me just then, only color and movement did.

He pushed and pushed, until the magic began to sputter a bit. When he didn't make another motion to attack, I dropped to my knees.

After he spoke, the others began to approach us. Link settled on the ground beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I shifted my weight until my hip met the ground and leaned into him. A canteen appeared in my vision, on the left of me. I glanced at Kailut, who was grinning madly at me and accepted the water he was offering.

The cool liquid slid down my throat, quenching a thirst I hadn't even realized was there yet. After a few swallows I handed it back. I could have and would have drank more, but I knew better. Cold water after extreme exertion would make a person drowsy and slow. And possibly sick.

I leaned farther into Link's hold when I realized that his skin felt about ten degrees cooler than mine. A small sigh escaped my mouth and his arm tightened around me. I raised my eyes up to meet those of the man that I had just fought.

"I am Locktam, by the way. This is Sarve," he motioned to the blonde haired man standing off to the side. "And Venna." He motioned to the woman sitting next to him. She grinned at me, her waist length blue hair shimmering in the sunlight.

"Greetings Sah'hilo."

"Greetings Venna," I managed to get out. She smiled again and glanced upward.

"Are you two going to have all at it again today? It's getting late..."

My eyes jerked upwards and I was astounded by what I saw. The sun was beginning its final descent to evening. How had we been fighting for that long? I had expected an hour or so, but a bit over four? That was much longer than my sparring with Zei had ever lasted, and we had been on a lower level then.

I closed my eyes for a moment, gathering what energy I had regained and reached out.

Thank you.

Her light laughter echoed in my head, and her reply sounded both affectionate and amused.

You're welcome, little one.

A smile made its way to my face.

I dropped heavily onto Link's bed, face first, earning a chuckle from him.

"That was some display."

I turned my head and glanced up at him.

Locktam had given me half an hour of recovery time. When the end of it had come, he declared me well rested enough to go again. Two more hours of fighting had drained nearly everything out of me.

I'm sure everyone in the castle had paused at some point during those two hours to watch us clash. If not for the want to watch us spar, then for the bright colors that we gave off after night had fallen. I'm sure most of the girls had stood at the windows for a while, watching the sparks flare up and shift color when they collided.

Afterwards, Nabooru had hauled me up and over to the clear water directly around the castle wall, and flung me in. I sputtered at her as the group laughed, but the water felt good against my skin, just the right amount of cool.

Of course, that had forced me to change my clothing, but after hours on end of fighting and testing my magic, they needed changing. I raised my arms, crossing them in front of me, using them as a makeshift pillow.

"Yes, it was interesting. I can only imagine how tomorrow will be."

He chuckled lowly and turned to grab a clean tunic off of one of the shelves. And then he pulled off the one he had worn for the day, dropping it to the floor. My eyes locked onto his form. It wasn't the first time that I had seen Link without a tunic on, but it never failed to grab my attention.

He turned to say something to me and froze when he realized that I was staring at him. He half glanced down and then away, a light blush stealing onto his face. The feeling in the air shifted, causing my heartbeat to pick up slightly. His hands clenched at his shirt for a moment, as if he was mentally debating something.

He loosened his grip on the fabric, and opened his mouth to say something, when a quiet knock echoed through the room.

A moment later the door opened half way and a young girl poked her head inside. The short black hair that stuck up all over and the bright green eyes struck up some memories. There was a large group of children in their tenth to fifteenth years in the castle that would trot back and forth all day, carrying messages. This was one of a handful personally under the Princess' command.

I sat up and motioned for her to come in. She did so, shutting the door behind her quietly. Glancing up at Link then back to me, she took a few steps more into the room.

"The Princess would like to see the two of you in the Northern Tower council room. She asks that you come as soon as you can. It's important."

She paused a moment, hesitating.

"Go back, Listil. Tell her we are on our way."

She nodded at me, the opened the door and ducked back out. I sat there for a moment, then rose. I turned to Link, who had pulled on his tunic. I flashed him a small smile as we exited the room and turned down the hall that would take us to our destination.

Zelda sat in the candlelit room, her head in her hands. I glanced around at the others there. Grim faces and pursed lips graced all of them. My eyes landed on a scroll unrolled on the table in front of Zelda.

Link stepped up beside me, his eyes on the Princess as well. She glanced up as the door shut behind us. Her eyes were rimmed in red, but whether it was from rubbing at her eyes or crying, I was unsure. I hesitated until she lowered an arm and pushed the scroll in our direction.

With steady steps, I made my way over to the table and picked it up. The candles gave off just enough light for me to be able to see the words. Carefully written in dark heavy ink, the words carried the worst threat imagined under the circumstances, and perhaps, the most expected one.

My whole body froze, turning into unmoving ice, as I registered what was written.

The name at the bottom caused an image to flicker in the back of my mind. Shad Turrint. The same Wielder that had sent the Cavuduit creatures into the Spirit Temple in an attempt to either capture or kill Nabooru. The rider I had seen on the dune in the moonlight. The very same Sheikah that had fired arrows on us in the mountains when we had first met Zei and Kailut.

Lady Shatai had said he was the Commander directly under the Naha'lo, second in command of the Lanthium. And now here he was again, with an open threat for Zelda and all of Hyrule.

"What does it say?"

I jerked slightly, starting from my thoughts. I turned to Link, meeting his eyes for a moment, before turning and dropping the scroll back onto the table.

"He demands the Princess to surrender all those who have come from the mountain, every last Sheikah. And he also demands that I be surrendered as well."

"He who?"

"Commander Turrint," Zelda said calmly.

I could see in Link's eyes that he understood immediately. He too remembered the name that the Elder had given us after we were fired upon. His eyes fixed on Zelda.

"When will they be here?"

She kept her eyes trained on the tabletop, as if she found the dark wood the most interesting thing in the world. But I knew better. Her mind was a thousand miles away, going over every order that she would have to give when she left this room.

Link turned to me, his face emotionless.

"A week, maybe less."

Nothing in his expression changed.

"And your answer, Princess?"

This time, she raised her eyes and locked them onto his. They smoldered, the pleasant light blue turned to hard chips of ice.

"My answer is no, as you well know. And so now, we must prepare for the battle that we all knew was coming. Even if they had the Sheikah people returned to them, even if they acquired Shiek, nothing would stop them from coming here with the intent to destroy us all. No matter what they say or promise..."

And I knew she was right. If we were turned over, they would simply attack immediately, knowing that the people of Hyrule would be defenseless against the Wielder's powerful magic with all of the defenders that could use Chaos Magic against them under their own guards. If they used guards at all. The villagers might be spared, but I knew that none of the rest of us would be.

They would execute us on the spot.

I stared up at the Hyrulian flag hung on the wall behind Zelda.

All around me, the silence that now filled the room was overwhelming.

Nearly an hour later, we left the still quiet room. We made our way slowly back to Link's room, entering without a sound. Link walked past me to the window. Candles weren't needed in this room. Moonlight spilled in from its height in the sky, lighting the room enough for us to make things out clearly.

I watched as he turned his head up to the stars, taking them all in.

I walked up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and drawing him close. He leaned back into me as I settled my head on his shoulder.

"I thought that after Ganondorf's rule was over, that we would have peace for more than just these short years. I thought it would last for a long time..."

I stayed silent a moment more before I answered him.

"Wherever there is light, darkness is not far behind. This has been a long time in the making. These Sheikah left Hyrule and bided their time in the high mountain tops, waiting for something to weaken our lands... When Ganondorf went to them willingly, they saw the path of revenge before them as clear as day. And then they began the plans for it to become reality.'

"Just as you were born to carry the triforce, I was born to be balance to the whole. There is nothing that we did wrong, nothing that we did to encourage or allow what has come and is to come. It was decided before we even knew the roles we would play."

I paused and then pressed a kiss against his shoulder. He took a deep breath and shook slightly.

"It took me a long time after you left to come to terms that even then I had fallen for you. I was heartbroken, because I knew regardless of what Zelda told me, you were real. You were real and you were gone..."

Waves of pain and guilt washed through me as I tightened my arms around him.

"I hurt so badly, but after a while, everything sort of just faded. The years seemed to blur together and passed without notice. Everything faded away, all of the emotion, all of the happiness... There were months where I would just stare out at the fields and the stars, seeing them in front of me and not seeing them at all.'

"Zelda continued to lie to me. And I think on some levels, she knew that I knew. But she ignored it. I couldn't trust her word, I couldn't trust anyone. And then the Sages started to disappear, and those creatures were being seen everywhere... Impa requested permission to go and gather the remaining Sages. Zelda hesitated before ordering me to accompany her. I should have known then..."

I tightened my arms around him as he trembled again.

"I should have known that you were still somewhere within reach... But she thought that you were well hidden enough that I wouldn't find you. And so she let me go. And when I saw you standing there, I thought I was dreaming again... I could bury all feeling deep inside of me, but nothing could stop you from entering my dreams."

I could hear the pain in his voice, and it tore me apart knowing I had a hand in putting it there. I released my grip on him and raised my hands to his shoulders. When he turned around to face me, my heart clenched as tear tracks became visible in the moonlight.

I touched his cheek softly with a shaking hand.

"I am so sorry Link. I am so sorry that I put you through all of this pain, all of this-"

He placed his fingers on my lips, effectively cutting off my words. I stared up at him, trying to convey them from my eyes instead.

He smiled softly at me.

"I know. And I am sorry too. You went through the same pain."

I nodded.

"But now you're here, and I'm here. And I love you so much."

Just like that, all of the pain melted away. I returned his smile and reached a hand up to his neck. I pulled him closer until his lips were nearly brushing mine.

"I love you too."

He closed the fraction of space that was between us and moved his lips softly against mine. It was like taking a large swallow of strong liquor, warmth burst through my system, lighting every nerve. Slowly the kiss became something more. Warmth turned to fire, racing along my veins.

He placed his hands on my hips, drawing me as close as possible. I in turn twined my arms around his neck and threaded a few fingers through the longer locks of his hair. Time was lost, and the only time our kisses broke was for quick pants of air now and then before returning to continue. I shifted slightly and he gave out a low growl, the sound shaking me to my core.

I shivered against him, and then I was going backwards. Ten shuffled steps or so and I felt the back of my knees hit the bed. Excitement and fear were equal as I lost my footing and I fell back onto the blankets, pulling him with me. And for a moment we both froze.

In the moonlight and shadows, his eyes were a deep blue, the color right before the sky darkens at night. But regardless I could still read them the same. I could see the emotion, and the need and the want in them. And I was sure mine reflected the same. He reached down to meet my lips again, and then hesitated.

I knew what he was thinking in that moment, and I couldn't help but tremble under him. I never wanted to let him go, never wanted to lose him again. But I could. I could lose him at any moment, at any second. And that fear was deeply instilled in me, because of all of the pain we had felt, and all the time we had already lost.

And if this moment discontinued, I knew I would regret it, regardless of the battle looming over this land. Regardless of anything.

Because I had wanted this, wanted him for so long.

"Have you ever..." He trailed off, blue eyes filled with sudden uncertainty.

"No," I whispered back.

He swallowed hard, and when his hand brushed my face again, I realized that I wasn't the only one shaking.

"Me neither."

For a moment, we stared at each other, unblinking.

"We don't have to-"

"I want to."

He stared at me a moment longer, then a soft, nervous smile broke out on his face.

And he lowered his lips to meet mine, my heart speeding up to an impossible level, and the magic in my veins seemed to sing under his touch.

I vowed silently to make sure that he survived this coming battle.

Because if I had to live a single day without this warmth, this love, then surely I would break into a million pieces, unable to be fixed.

Without him, I would never survive in this world.

A/n : I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. I would love to hear you thoughts, comments, and opinions. Thank you for taking the time to read.

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


	16. Bells of War

You are What it Takes to Shatter Me

A/n : Dear Life, why do you suck?

I am so, so, so very sorry that this chapter has taken this long to get written and posted. But as always, life happened. And everything sucked. Badly. I hope that you can all forgive me.

But here is chapter 16 despite all of the suckiness :D

A huge Thank You to all you those who have read, favorited, alerted, and reviewed for this story thus far. You all make my world a less suckish place lol

A giant Thank You to the ever lovely Mermaidella, who is full of awsome and who kindly had beta'd this so you don't have to struggle though my horrid grammer. :D

Happy Reading

Chapter 16: Bells of War

Tension was heavy in the air of every day. Unease crept sluggishly through our veins. The Princess had doubled the guards and watchmen, in both Kakariko Village and on the ramparts of Castle Town. Her army trained for hours at a time every day, as did we. Every one of our fighters pushed harder and harder to ready themselves for the battle that would determine the fate of our lands.

Days turned into a week, a week turned into several, but still there was no sign of the Lanthium forces. They had seemingly disappeared from the ledges where they had previously been spotted.

They were simply gone, which left us all on edge.

Now and then, Zelda would abandon her meeting rooms and her hours of talking strategy with those in command of her forces. She would make her way to the training grounds that we practiced in and silently watch the display of multi-colored and deadly blasts of magic, at the gleaming swords as they slammed together. She joined several times during our archery and in hand to hand combat.

During those times I was reminded that the Zelda that ruled the people now was so different from the child in the Palace garden, or even the one that I had trained with for seven years. When she fought with us, when Nabooru or Impa or Link gave her advice or help she took it without argument. The whole time her face was grim, her lips pressed together tightly and her eyes smoldered like ice as she practiced and perfected her arts.

Arts that she should never have had to use.

There was a dull ache for her in my heart. Gone was that little girl. The clumsy, aloof girl that smiled and lit the room with her happiness. Gone was the girl that played the harp horridly, and forgot the lines in jokes. Who danced around the hidding room when she was bored, who looked sad when we had to catch and kill fish to eat because they reminded her of the pets she kept in the small pool in the courtyard.

In her place was a woman, readying herself for battle and fully prepared to do whatever it took to ensure that her people remained alive and free.

But the look in Lady Impa's eyes was that of pride when she watched the Princess fight. And there was another light when they fell on the dark skinned woman who was showing Zelda how to wield her short sword better. The way her gaze softened and lingered, I wondered that perhaps Nabooru's affections, despite that fact that Impa often brushed her advances off, were not entirely unrequited after all.

I had seen the two of them nag and argue with each other every time they met, but never had I witnessed my Lady look at anyone with that look in her eye. And it made me wonder too how long Impa had felt for her, and why she had not shown it before.

Shuddering realization had hit the moment after that thought. Of course, the war loomed ahead. Impa knew, just as I knew, this could be the last chance for any of us.

My eyes flickered, searching for the chance that I had grabbed hard a hold of and still had not relinquished my grip on.

Link was settled back against the stone wall, cooling down. Bright blue eyes caught mine, echoing the sky above as the sun began to descend into the mountains. The invitation in them was clear, and I needed a breather as well. I excused myself from Locktam's discussion with Venna, who grinned at me as I made my way to Link's side.

A soft smile greeted me and a steady heartbeat greeted mine as I settled down next to him, pressed close. An arm wrapped around me, pulling me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. The cool of the shadow and stones let me sink into a comfortable sense of ease. And with the coolness and the warm body next to me came the memories of night air and moonlight and heartbeats.

Without a second conscious thought, I drifted off to sleep.

My eyes snapped open, trying to take in the darkness and make sense of where I was. Someone shifted next to me and I tensed for a moment until the scent of cool water, rich earth, and lemon grass drifted over. I settled back at Link's side as I tried to remember what had woken me.

Most nights I was too tired to dream. Training sapped me of a lot of energy during the day, and at night what was left of my energy was spent with Link.

He had surprised me the second night, rolling over and pulling me on top of him. Soft, low pleading for me to claim him as he had claimed me. Heat had coiled through me at his words, and I complied to his request, just as gently and as thoroughly as he had with me, lips pressing soft kisses and light nips to every inch of his skin, our heartbeats creating a unique tempo to a dance that we had every intention of attending as often as the chance came. Low moans and sharp breaths poured from us, mingling with the hazy pleasure in the cool night. Deep golden and light honey toned skin gleamed in moonlight as we surrendered ourselves to one another.

Some nights it seemed as if we never slept and the night stretched out forever.

Some nights there were no words or actions needed as we lay awake next to each other, wrapped in silence and our steady heartbeats for hours.

An image flashed through my head as I allowed my gaze to linger on Link's still sleeping form. Fire brushed through my mind, relentless heat searing into my skin. Then it shifted from phantom heat to real heat. I jerked my arms back to my chest, the movement startling Link into wakefulness.

"Sheik?"

I couldn't find the words to answer him as I tried to push the pain from the front of my mind. Tears filled my eyes, but I managed to hold them at bay for a few moments more. I barely registered the noise and the movement of Link as he scrambled off the bed and disappeared into the wash room.

It felt like the moment that I had received the marks all over again. I just couldn't comprehend as to why. Then cool hands grabbed mine and pulled out and then down. I gasped sharply as the ice cold water met with my hot hands. The pain intensified for a moment and then dissipated slowly.

I glanced up at Link, the sadness in his eyes echoing my own. His eyes moved back to my hands and mine followed. The water was putting of steam as it cool my hands. After a few minutes I withdrew them from the water, settling them into the soft cloth that Link had grabbed.

The lines on my palms had darkened even more, looking like fresh dark ink. A foreign sensation brushed my mind and I shuddered. Din's presence filled my mind for a moment and then flitted away without a word.

But then again, there were no words needed. I knew what she meant.

I rose from the bed and turned to the window.

Dawn was beginning to rush the deep blue night sky, streaks of pale light painting the horizon. Link brushed against me and wrapped warm arms around my middle. His chin rested on my shoulder as he watched the sky with me.

And in the moment before it happened, his arms tightened on me, as if he had heard it before it even sounded out in the quiet sunrise.

The trumpet's warning call.

It seemed so distant, nearly mistaken in my mind for a flash of dream. But as it echoed louder and closer, I knew why my hands had woken up feeling as if they were on fire. It sounded out again in the otherwise silent air.

My eyes never left the light beginning to spill up at the edge of the land.

It was time.

He was here.

The sun burst over the edge of our world, and for a moment everything seemed as though it was alight with fire.

And then it was gone, replaced with gentle, warming beams.

I turned around in Link's hold, wrapping my own arms around him as chaos erupted in the courtyards below us. I knew there was little time, and that we should be getting ready now, but I kept my place.

This could be the last time I ever would have this, and I allowed it to sink into me, to seep into my skin and etch itself onto my bones. Gentle fingers lifted my chin and soft lips settled against my own.

For a few minutes, we lost ourselves in each other with gentle desperation.

A soft knock sounded out against my door, and Link broke our kiss. Arms tightened around me once more before releasing me. I straightened myself, allowing the feeling flowing through me to steel my will and to give me the courage that I needed.

I shifted from on top of the Lanthium horse I was riding. It broke my heart not to ride into battle on Ember, because she was my partner, just as Epona was Link's. I glanced over at him, blond and deep blue on black. He too had been given one of the spare horses from the fallen Lanthium from mountain battle.

Jahjin shifted nervously under me. He could feel the tension that was thick in the air. Nabooru, Impa, Zelda and several others were seated on giant black horses as well. They knew what was coming and were ready to charge forth and bare us into the thick of battle without shying from either sword or magic.

The sun was nearing its zenith in the middle of sky when everyone was settled into place and ready for the oncoming battle. There was a moment of silence and then I heard a whinny echo from the mountain path, and then the thunder of hooves and feet.

And when they came into sight, I froze momentarily, and from next to me I could hear Link swearing.

I looked along the line and then over a few paces to Zei, Kailut, Locktam, and the others. From the expressions on their faces, they had not expected this either. They had expected a force of less than fifty and nearly all of them Wielders, but here in front of us there were four hundred at the least. Villagers with spears and short swords held firmly. Youths dwarfed by the large horses they sat upon. Nearly all of the front ranks had a bag of sorts that they settled on the ground in front of them.

A dark thought entered my mind at the sight of nearly one-hundred of the unknown bags in front of grim faced villagers. I glanced over at Kei and saw the same grim look on his face. He knew exactly what the bags contained and I could take a guess at the contents, but for that to happen...

My eyes roamed over the Sheikah standing there, waiting for orders. And I knew that theirs wouldn't be a forward attack. Theirs would be a sacrifice.

For several moments no one moved or made a noise. Silence hung heavy over every soul. And then the Lanthium ranks parted, a lone horseman moving from the back.

There was no doubt in my mind. I had no reason to look to the others for confirmation. This was the Naha'lo, the leader of the Lanthium. And in the silence, I could hear the slightest crackle of magic along with the flick of a hand. Dark purple raced across the air.

With a quick tap to Jahjin's side, I moved in front of Zelda and raised my hand. The magic he sent at us slammed into the blue of my own, showering silver sparks. A slight smirk appeared on his lips as he stared me down.

I felt Din's magic stir in me, heat flooding my veins like fire.

I raised my hands in the air, palms outward.

Their leader's smirk faded into a snarl as he flicked his hand again, but this time no magic was issued. Instead, they all moved forward as one.

I glanced at those around me one last time.

Zelda sat straight, her eyes smoldering. Zei and Kailut grasped at each other's wrist, before reaching out and doing the same to the other Lanthium around them. Out of the corner of my eyes I caught Impa's movement as she reached her hand out to Nabooru, who gripped it tightly. Then I caught summer colored eyes for what could be the last time.

I flicked my heels down and Jahjin reared up, the stallion's war cry echoing shrilly through the air.

Heavy hooves landed hard upon the earth, leaving deep imprints.

With Link's love and courage in my heart and Din's own magic in my fingertips, I started towards the enemy, with every intent to meet them halfway.

A/n : I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. The next one is half-way written already, so hopefully it will be up soon. I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and opinions. Thank you all so much for reading :D

Love and Kisses,

beautiful lies


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